


Good As New

by keylimepie



Series: Charlotte 'Verse [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abuse of Angelic Grace, Amusement Parks, Angel Healing, Angel Mojo, Angst, Angsty Schmoop, Arguing, BAMF Gabriel, Blood and Gore, Bunker Sex, Car Sex, Castiel and Kids, Dean and Kids, Demons Are Assholes, F/M, Family Drama, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Gabriel and Kids, Hunt Gone Wrong, Kid Fic, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Oral Sex, Original Character(s), Outdoor Sex, Pancakes, Past Abuse, Ping-Pong, Polyamory, Porn with Feelings, Shower Sex, Team Free Will, Threesome, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 23:36:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 56,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7990363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keylimepie/pseuds/keylimepie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Melanie is injured on a hunt, it's a good thing there's an angel around to fix her up, good as new. Or is it? There are big changes coming, the bunker's getting more crowded, and everyone has family issues to deal with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As part of a series, it may not make a lot of sense if you haven't read that yet. Start at the beginning. ;)
> 
> Takes place about three years post the events of "I Still Believe" sooo in S11, possibly carrying over into S12. We'll see.

_February, 2016_

It seemed like a simple enough case. The convent was probably haunted, probably by some long dead nun, and Dean and Castiel had already started the “FBI investigation” of the case before they had realized that only a nun was going to be able to get at the information that they needed. 

“Heya Mel, how do you feel about taking a vow of chastity?” Dean asked his sister-in-law over the phone that afternoon. 

“Dean, if this is about last week in the kitchen I think I’ve already apologized enough for Gabriel and me both,” she said crossly. She was irritated that Gabriel had left the apologizing to her, that in fact he was not the least bit sorry that he’d talked her into 3 AM kitchen sex and then let his guard down so much that he hadn’t noticed Dean wandering the bunker sleeplessly. 

“No it’s not, and uh, thanks for reminding me. I hope to never see another archangel ass again for the rest of my life.” 

“Oh shut up. Be glad it wasn’t your brother,” she said sweetly. 

“Dude!” Dean wasn’t sure in which part of the tableau she meant, but his mind quickly shifted gears in any case. 

Melanie laughed. “Anyway, you’re the one who called out of nowhere to ask about my sex life.” 

“No, I just need a nun,” he grumbled impatiently. 

“Dean, I am not into your freaky role play kinks. OR you.” 

“For this hunt, Mel. Can you come hunt with us? God! We need an undercover nun. Why do you gotta be so… arg!” 

“Why didn’t you just say so? Yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll tell the guys and head right up there.” Melanie hung up the phone excitedly. She’d only been involved in a handful of hunts in the three years since she’d come to live with the gang in the bunker. Of course, she did a lot of research for them, as well as for other hunters, but it wasn’t quite the same. She also kept busy preserving the Men of Letters’ archives and artifacts as best as she could, and still sometimes engaged in her own historical writing, though this had been dwindling to the lowest priority. And of course, taking care of her daughter, seven-year-old Charlotte Winchester, was the highest priority. Though the child had three parents and two uncles to entertain her, and was off at the local elementary school every day, it always seemed to be a full time job. A hunt would be a nice relaxing vacation. A hunt with Dean and Cas for a change, instead of going out with Sam. She suspected that Dean would push her harder and expect more of her, and Melanie really needed a challenge. She scampered off to begin preparing. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Gabriel, honey, how quickly can you teach me how to be Catholic?” Melanie said, dropping into the archangel’s lap. 

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are we going to play sexy prayers to your favorite saint? And it’s not even my feast day! But hey, light some candles, I’m game.” He slid one arm around her waist, the other hand questing under the hem of her skirt. 

She leaned in and kissed his nose. “Naughty angel. No, I have to go undercover as a nun, and I have no idea how any of that stuff works. All those scripted prayers, the Latin, the kneeling… the saints. Lutheran, remember? We don’t do that stuff.” 

“Ahh yes, you rebels really lightened my workload,” he said, smirking. “Well, you can just do what everyone around you is doing. And move your lips and mumble.” 

“Yeah, or you could just explain the basics to me.” 

Gabriel rolled his eyes, looking utterly put out. “Fine,” he sighed, touching two fingers to her forehead. She gasped and jerked back, but his other hand was clamped around her waist, preventing her from falling off the chair. It felt like a knife had stabbed in the center of her brain, but it was over in seconds. 

“Just the basics,” he said. “That should get you through.” 

“Thanks,” she said weakly, snuggling against his shoulder. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the porn! Uh, I think this may be my first ever Spn smut thing I've published. Be gentle. :)

Sam sat cross-legged on the bed while Melanie packed for the hunt. She had stuffed the dowdy nun’s habit into the bottom of her bag and was now putting an assortment of her regular clothes into the bag. Jeans and sweaters, pajamas, and a few business casual outfits just in case. 

“Remember, confidence is everything in going undercover,” Sam said. “You have to believe your story in order to project that belief to others.” 

“Got it,” she said, leaning over to kiss him. He reached up to tug at her and they tumbled to the bed together, soft kisses quickly turning to desperate thrusting through clothes. They had been on a few hunts together in the years Melanie had been with them in the bunker, but they had been few and far between, and never had she been on a hunt without him at her side. The anxiety about her going into a hunt without him was translating to a needy lust. 

Sam reached between them to fumble his jeans open. “I need you, now,” he growled. Melanie’s fingers slide under his clothes to grip his tight, perfect ass cheeks firmly in both hands and inch his pants downward. This only fueled Sam’s impatience and he yanked her skirt up and shoved at his pants just enough to free his cock. He thrust against her and was rewarded by the wet, slick slide of her folds. 

“Ohhh, no panties,” he sighed in relief, angling himself and thrusting again to drive himself home and let her heat surround his cock. “Wow,” he breathed out. 

Melanie groaned. “Mmhm. I may have… mmm… may have had.. this… oh! Sam! – in mind.” She met his thrusts enthusiastically, their bodies slapping together with each movement with a satisfying smack. Having jumped right into the main event, they slowed their pace to savor this part with soft, sweet kisses. Eventually, this gave way to urgency once again. Sam could feel that Melanie was on the verge of coming apart. 

“Mel,” Sam whimpered. “Cum for me, beautiful girl. Cum on my cock,” he growled, grabbing the headboard for support with one hand while the other hand grabbed her nipple and pinched it firmly. He pounded into her with an increasing fury. 

“Sam!” Melanie screamed, her orgasm beginning to roll through her body. “Don’t stop,” she gasped out. Sam intensified the rolling motion of his fingers and the sweet pleasure-pain brought her to a second peak. “Sam, Sam, Sam,” she chanted, scratching her fingernails down his back and ass, grabbing tight to push herself harder up against him in wave after wave of pleasure. Sam’s orgasm broke then as he tensed and shuddered his whole body against hers. 

Some time later they both stirred. Sam had collapsed on top of her, his softening cock still half-buried in her body. Their hearts hammered together and they gasped for breath. Sam pulled away slowly and rolled to his side. 

“I take it you’re going to miss me?” she teased. 

“You be careful out there,” he said forcefully. He reached a hand up to cup her cheek. “You come back to us in one piece, understand?” 

“Sam,” she sighed. So that was what the desperation was about. He was afraid for her. “Baby, it’s just a hunt. I’ll be fine.” 

They went to shower together, and were joined by Gabriel as well. Sam smiled knowingly at the two and quickly scrubbed and exited. “I need to run out soon to pick up Lottie from school,” he said, stepping out and toweling off. He slipped out of the shower room, leaving his lovers to their own devices. 


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriel stepped under the shower spray, his eyes raking up and down her body. “Hey kiddo. Care for a little shower nookie to hold you over through your religious conversion?” He brushed his fingertips down her arm ever so gently, sending a shiver down her back. 

Melanie grinned up at him. “Mmm. Well, I’m pretty satisfied at the moment, so you’ll have to convince me.” 

“Challenge accepted,” he murmured, waggling his eyebrows. Gabriel seized her shoulders and ducked his head down to her neck and nibbled little kisses there and along her collarbone. He then shifted to kissing his way down her body, the shower spray plastering his hair to his head as it dipped between her breasts, licking the skin there, his tongue impossibly hot. Melanie leaned back against the shower wall as he kissed down the curve of her stomach, lower and lower. She threaded her fingers in his hair, nudging his mouth toward where she wanted it most. Gabriel gave a little chuckle and lifted her legs to place one over each shoulder, with a little grace work to keep her supported up against the shower wall. Melanie whimpered impatiently as he kissed her thighs. 

“You’re an insatiable thing, you know that?” he purred, nudging his nose into the cleft of her thigh. Her body was still filled with Sam’s essence and her own juices. Gabriel could smell them both and it was going straight to his cock. He planted a gentle kiss to the top of her slit. 

“Eat me,” she said. She had intended for the words to come out bantering, but her voice was all desire and need as his breath ghosted across her skin. 

Gabriel’s cock twitched at that, and he moved forward, licking between her folds, his hot tongue swirling around her clit. “Fuck. Gabe,” she whispered, pulling his face closer. His fingers slid from where they cupped her ass to dip between, brushing lightly across her puckered hole. She made a wordless cry of encouragement and he slid the digit in, gently and slowly, slick with the juices flowing out of her. His tongue shifted downward, circling the entrance before poking into her pussy, licking the remains of her mingling with Sam. He moaned in pleasure at the taste. The finger in her ass continued its slow, gentle stroking. Gabriel knew that it was something that she cared for only occasionally, and he was glad he’d guessed her mood correctly. Her fingers tugged at his hair as she made little gasps, and he knew that she was close already. 

“Suck my clit,” she said, suddenly demanding. “Gabe, _please._ ” Her thighs were quivering where they pressed against his shoulder. Ohh, she was close. He lazily licked a swipe upward, then latched his hot mouth around the little nub and sucked. 

Melanie bucked against his mouth, her fingers pulling hard against his head. Gabriel was glad that he didn’t, strictly speaking, need to breathe, as she ground herself against him. Her screams echoed in the tiled shower room and he ached for friction against his throbbing cock. But he patiently waited for her to recover from her climax and then stood her carefully on her feet, an arm still around her waist. 

Melanie pressed close, feeling his hard cock against her. “What can I do for you, my angel?” 

Gabriel hummed, grinding against her. “What do you want, my love?” He nibbled along her neck, licking the water droplets from her skin. 

“You did sort of start something… perhaps you’d like to finish it?” she suggested coyly. 

“Mmm,” he agreed. “I do love your sweet ass.” He lifted her in his arms and then dropped gracefully to his knees, just under the deliciously warm shower spray. When he laid her down on the floor, instead of the usual tiles it was covered with some sort of soft, squishy foam mat. 

Gabriel ran his palms broadly down her body, then brought her knees up and apart. He cocked his head and stared at her for a moment as the water cascaded down upon her. “Beautiful,” he sighed contentedly. “Melanie. So delicious in every way.” With one hand he stroked her pussy then resumed fingering her hole open. He quickly moved from one finger to two, pressing her open to him with sure strokes. 

“Gabe,” she choked out desperately. “So good. More. Please.” 

“You greedy thing,” he sighed. “Look at you, all spread out for me.” He pulled his fingers free and shifted closer to her, lining up his cock with her stretched open hole as he leaned down over her body. “Gonna make you scream again, Sugar,” he promised, slowly inching in. Melanie gasped as her body adjusted to him. “Good?” he asked cautiously. Receiving an affirmative nod, he began to move against her, slowly. 

“Yes,” she whispered. “Just like that.” The sensation of being filled up with him left her shivery, and the steady drip of the water as it ran down over his body and trickled onto hers added to the stimulation of her heightened senses. Gabriel brought one hand down between them and fingered her clit gently, barely a ghost of a touch. “ _Gabe_ ” she panted as her climax began to build. 

“Right behind you, Sweetie,” he grunted, stroking her softly. She broke suddenly, throwing her arms wide and thrusting her body up at him and screaming his name. As she tightened around him, impossibly tight, Gabriel came in wave after wave. 

He pulled slowly out of her and leaned down to kiss her. “Amazing, beloved. Amazing.” 

“Yes,” she agreed. She reached up to stroke his cheek. “Was that… I get the feeling that Sam was needing me pretty badly because he is nervous about me going hunting. Is it the same for you? Was that your anxious goodbye?” 

“Pfft,” Gabriel snorted. “I’m not worried a bit. You’ll be fine. I just heard you two before and… well I figured I’d…” he shrugged. “You guys sounded so hot and I wanted to give you that space but… yeah, I’m gonna miss you.” 

She shifted around and slowly got to her feet and reached for her loofah. “Gotta love a shower that stays at the perfect temperature for like an hour of continuous showering.” Gabriel feigned an innocent look and moved to wash her back. 

They were dressed and ready by the time Sam and Charlotte returned to the bunker. The child bounded down the stairs and tossed her backpack onto the floor with a thud. Her baby-fine blonde hair was in two pigtails and she wore a blue cotton dress with striped leggings and colorful sneakers that lit up when she walked. “Mommy mommy mommy! Daddy said you were going onna trip!” she squeezed Melanie around the legs. Sam drifted down the stairs more sedately and leaned against the table, watching them fondly. 

“Just a few days, Baby. Going to go help Uncle Dean and Uncle Cas do some work,” she said patiently, petting the child’s head. “But I waited for you to get home so I could say goodbye.” She picked her daughter up and squeezed her tight. “I love you, Lottie. Have fun with Daddy and Gabe.” 

Charlotte clutched her mother’s face in her little hands and smushed slobbery kisses all over her face. At last she let herself be put down. Melanie slung her bag over her shoulder and turned to Gabriel. 

“Ready,” she said. Gabriel raised his hand and snapped his fingers. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Blood and gore.

Melanie stumbled a little but quickly regained her footing. She glanced around and saw Dean and Castiel sitting at a small table, staring at her in surprise. They were in a motel room, and she was standing between the two beds. 

“Uh, hi,” she said, setting her bag down on one of the beds. “I’m here. Gabe sent me. Obviously,” she added. “You know, can’t do that myself,” she laughed, snapping her fingers. “Uh. Anyway.” 

“Well pull up a chair, Sis, and we’ll fill ya in,” said Dean. He spread out the newspaper clippings they’d accumulated and told her the details of the interviews they’d conducted. 

The next day, Melanie entered the Convent of the Blessed Mother, clad in her ugly nun’s habit. At least it was the modern kind, with a calf-length skirt and a simple veil over the back of her hair. Her paperwork showed that she had transferred in from a nearby diocese to help in the convent’s attached school, in the administrative office. She was thus able to spend a lot of time leafing through personnel files and old yearbooks, trying to find indications of any suspicious deaths that may have spawned a vengeful ghost. She was also able to gossip with the novices, who she discovered were a chatty bunch, to try to reveal any interesting stories that might provide a clue. 

It was the end of the fourth day when they figured out that it wasn’t a ghost, but a demon possessing one of the nuns. Unfortunately, they figured it out while said demon, in the guise of an elderly nun who had been sequestered in an upper floor room “sick” in order to avoid the hunters, was chasing Dean and Melanie through the groundskeepers’ garage with a pitchfork. Dean made it across first and quickly dug the demon knife out of his bag, but by the time he turned around to gank the demon, it had reached Melanie with the pitchfork. It stabbed her first in the leg, a grazing wound leaving a gash in her calf and sending her stumbling to the ground. As she laid there too stunned to move, it brought the pitchfork down a second time. Two of the tines caught her in the abdomen, just below and to the left of her navel. Then, the demon twisted and she felt the sickening tearing of her flesh coming apart, out, off. 

Dean roared and stabbed the demon knife into the old nun’s chest, then shoved her aside as he scrambled toward Melanie. Melanie tried to scream, tried to breathe, but it felt like she was frozen. Then she felt the white hot pain in her gut, and her legs went numb. It was then that Castiel ran through the door, having just figured out that something was amiss. He reached her side just after Dean did. She looked up at them, but felt like she was falling backwards into coldness and darkness and their faces swirled before her, so far away. She heard a low moan that she thought might be coming from her. 

“Mel, honey, shhh, it’s okay,” Dean said desperately, his eyes wide and panicky as he looked at the pulpy, bloody mess that the demon had turned her guts into. “Cas-“ 

Castiel touched Melanie’s arm. His face furrowed in concentration as he tried to knit the shattered flesh back together. “So much damage,” he murmured. “Dean, I can’t-“ 

“Don’t you say that!” Dean growled. 

“I can’t just close wounds! I need to rebuild her organs. Everything’s shredded, everything. Just give me a moment. I’m having to start over on a cellular level. Be patient.” As he spoke, he was slowly re-forming organs inside of her body, staving off the bleeding, cleaning out the disease and filth from the rusty metal. Even after she lost consciousness, Dean held Melanie’s hand and stroked her hair as if it was Sammy lying here. Sammy, Sammy would lose his mind if they lost her. And Lottie, sweet little niece, could not be left motherless as they had been. And Gabriel, freaking Gabriel was likely to- 

“ _What?_ ” roared the voice of the archangel, echoing through the garage. “What happened?” He hit his knees on the floor at her side. “Oh, Sugar.” 

“I’ve healed her, Brother,” Castiel said in an exhausted voice, laying a comforting hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I was not here faster. The wounds were severe, but I have put her back together. She will be fine.” 

“Okay,” Gabriel exhaled. Melanie sat up slowly, disoriented, hearing Gabriel’s voice. Gabriel’s arms slid around her, whether to support her or reassure himself, she was not sure. Dean gave her one more squeeze on the shoulder then stood up. 

“Take her home, man. We’ll clean up here,” Dean said to the archangel. Gabriel and Melanie disappeared. 

They were in their bedroom. Melanie let Gabriel pull her ruined habit off and lay her gently on the bed. Sam was nowhere to be seen. She realized that it was Charlotte’s bedtime and that he was likely busy with that and had no idea what was going on. 

“I forgot to pray,” she said, ashamed. “I’m sorry.” 

“Worst nun ever,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair anxiously. 

“How did you know?” 

“Dean-O was thinking my name too hard, and in a full out panic. That got through to me.” He sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her, assuring himself that her skin was smooth and unbroken. “Please tell me that whatever hurt you is dead.” 

“Demon. Yeah. I think Dean got it.” 

Gabriel snorted. “Spectacular timing, Winchester.” 

“He did his best! We all did!” she snapped defensively. “Hunting is dangerous. Maybe you should find some humans in nice, safe professions to shack up with,” she grumbled peevishly. 

“What, like a librarian? Or maybe a lawyer?” 

“In another version of reality,” Melanie sighed. “Look, I’m okay now, okay? Just come snuggle me, Angel. I’m cold.” 

Gabriel granted this request, wrapping his arms, legs, and unseen wings around her protectively. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another smutty one. Plot too, but also the smut. Sorry it took so long. And I thought it was hard coordinating *two* people to have sex...

The next evening, Dean and Castiel returned and they had a family dinner together, with Charlotte sitting between her beloved uncles and chattering at them constantly. “And then – and then – UNCLE DEAN guess what – I GOT TO MAKE PLAY DOUGH at school yesterday cause we all got our plusses worksheets done on time. Plusses are easy, you just use your fingers. But I like SCIENCE better. Did you know that last year we went to the woods and walked around and listened to birds and different kinds of songs and that’s SCIENCE?” Charlotte wiggled on her seat as she talked. Dean kept stuffing his face, but looked down at the child with unconcealed adoration, occasionally punctuating with a “yeah?” or “is that so?” around a mouthful of pot roast. 

After dinner, Castiel went to read the child her bedtime story, at her request. When he returned to the kitchen, he found himself walking in on an animated discussion. 

“I’m not telling you that I want you to stop hunting forever, I’m not,” Sam assured Melanie fervently. They stood at the sink, Melanie scrubbing plates vigorously enough to take the designs off, Sam drying things carefully with a towel. “I would never want to hold you back in some… ridiculous gender roles crap. You know that.” 

“Well that makes one voice of reason around here,” she grumbled, looking pointedly around at Dean, leaning against the counter, and Gabriel, who still sat at the table nearby. 

Gabriel held his hands up. “Gender roles, pfft. Nothing to do with it. It’s more like… species roles. I’d rather neither of you was out there risking your fragile little human bodies.” The recent events had shaken him to his core. If Castiel had not been there… if no one had been nearby to offer a prayer to either angel… he was starting to realize that there were too many things that could go wrong with this whole Winchester family business thing. 

“I don’t want to see my niece grow up motherless,” Dean said emphatically. “She shouldn’t go through what we did.” He glanced over at the refrigerator, decorated with happy crayon drawings of their family and smiley-stickered worksheets from school. 

“Well how is Sam exempt? Fatherless isn’t just as bad?” Melanie countered. 

“Hey, you were happy to let her stay that way all those years when you hid her from her father, and now you’re gonna throw that at me?” Dean said. 

“You dick!” she exclaimed. Only Sam’s hand, heavy on her shoulder, kept her from lunging forward and kicking the older Winchester in the shins. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he retorted smugly. “You know it’s true. You know having a mother is more important to a little kid, ‘specially a little girl.” 

“Misogynist troglodyte,” she spat out, glaring at him. 

“You’re a… whatever,” he answered. Sam smirked, earning himself a glare from Dean. 

“I have a plan, guys,” Sam interjected before they could hurl anymore insults at each other. “Look, we’ll work on what we can strengthen about your hunting abilities, maybe put you on a better playing field. You can go running with me in the morning. Blade training with Cas. Shooting range with Dean – when you think you can manage not to shoot _at_ him. Then, maybe in a month or two, we’ll reevaluate.” 

“What’s Gabriel going to do to contribute?” Dean asked. 

“I’m going to rub her body all over after you three are done torturing her,” he said with an eyebrow waggle. This earned an exasperated groan from Dean and a snort from Melanie, though it was followed by a sly wink. 

The next few weeks, Melanie did try her best to hone her skills. She crossed blades with Castiel, and listened patiently as he explained the anatomy of various creatures and where best to stab them. She let Dean teach her how to aim better and how to reload more quickly, and how to be comfortable with a variety of weapons beyond her own familiar pistol. She joined Sam on his morning run, and he altered his routine to allow her to gradually work up to his level. She suspected that it would take quite some time, and that really she’d never be able to run as fast, with over a foot difference between their heights. But she patiently let him try to increase her stamina with ever increasing routes, reminding herself that she was comparing to her own past performance, not her extremely fit boyfriend’s abilities. 

The two would then drive Charlotte to school together after the early morning run and then park the minivan on a back road and indulge in some creative car sex while still on the post-run high. 

One morning after he had figured out that part of their routine, Gabriel appeared in the passenger seat in the midst of it. Sam and Melanie had folded the van’s back seats down and spread blankets and pillows on the floor. Melanie was straddling Sam’s hips and leaning down to kiss and nip at his chest. Sam groaned as she flicked her tongue around a nipple. 

“So this is your workout,” said the voice of the archangel appreciatively, startling them both. 

“Keeps Dean from complaining about the noise,” Sam chuckled. 

“Would you like to join us?” Melanie asked sweetly, leering at Gabriel. “Plenty of room back here.” 

Gabriel grinned. “With pleasure.” He crawled into the back and sprawled out next to them, his face inches from Sam’s. His hand reached out to grasp Sam’s jaw, running his fingers over the tiny hint of stubble there. Gabriel tilted Sam’s head to the side and captured his lips in a hungry kiss. His tongue explored Sam’s mouth gently. Sam threaded a hand through the archangel’s golden hair, seeking more. 

Melanie continued to lick a path down Sam’s body while watching their kiss. She paused around his navel to suck bruises and plant biting kisses around it. One hand reached under Gabriel’s shirt to caress his stomach and chest, and tease his nipples. With the other hand she scraped her fingernails lightly down Sam’s side, making him shiver and thrust against her. She planted a fiery kiss on the top of his hipbone and trailed her tongue lower. 

When she reached the waistband of his sweatpants Melanie hooked her thumbs under it and pulled them down impatiently. Gabriel wrapped a hand around Sam’s cock as soon as it was freed, sliding his fingers slowly up and down. Melanie scooted lower, licking the sensitive flesh of Sam’s inner thighs. After only a few moments of this treatment, Sam was moaning desperately and pulled Gabriel’s hand free. “Gotta slow that down,” he said, panting. “Let’s get you guys naked, too.” 

Sam leaned over Gabriel and started unbuttoning his shirt determinedly, kissing every bit of exposed skin as he went along. Melanie, already down to a sports bra and yoga pants, took matters into her own hands and quickly stripped off the rest of her own clothes while watching Sam divest Gabriel of his shirt. Then she and Sam worked together to strip Gabriel out of his jeans. Archangels being immune to chafing, he wore no underwear. 

Melanie straddled Gabriel’s body, hands planted on either side of his head, and leaned down to kiss him. Sam leaned on one elbow next to them, pressing in as close as he could. He pulled Melanie’s hair away from the back of her neck and kissed her there, then her shoulder. His other hand slid around and down her side to stroke between both of them, first around Melanie’s breast, teasing her nipple, then shifted down to circle Gabriel’s. Sam’s kisses moved down along Melanie’s arm. Gabriel lazily palmed Sam’s abdomen, admiring the taut skin and chiseled muscles. 

Melanie rolled her hips impatiently. Gabriel’s firm cock just teased the slippery edges of her folds. She wiggled, trying to catch him and slide him in. “Oh Mel, so wet,” he sighed. “How about you let me get on top, Sugar?” 

“Mmm, sure,” she answered, sitting back on his thighs. Sam guided her body to lie her down gently on her back, caressing his hands up and down her as he did. One big hand cupped her chin, fingers drifting up to rub over her mouth, and she sucked his fingers into her mouth and teased them with her tongue. Sam’s other hand slipped between her legs, dipping fingers into her pussy. He made a few strokes, rubbing her clit with his thumb. Then he pulled away and let Gabriel slide over and cover her. 

“Shall I tease you a bit first, my love?” Gabriel said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. He positioned himself just at her opening, and paused. “Let’s hear you beg for it.” 

“Gabriel, you know I want it,” she panted, thrusting upward ineffectively. Gabriel was pinning her hips with his grace. “Ugh, please,” she sighed. “Please, that’s so not fair.” 

Sam stroked his hand down the curve of Gabriel’s back, the deliciously rounded globes of his ass, then started gently fingering his hole. Gabriel made a noise of surprise and delight. Sam’s hand was still covered in Melanie’s slippery juices and it was easy enough to get one finger in rather quickly. 

“Speaking of people begging for it…” Sam said playfully. “Maybe I should just stop until you beg, Angel.” 

“Or until he gives me what I want,” Melanie suggested. 

“Not actually sure which I want more,” Gabriel admitted. He wriggled forward and backward, chasing both sensations. The feel of Sam’s finger, just ahyesrightthere, and then the feel of the tip of his dick just eversoslightly into Melanie. Again, and he plunged into Melanie’s hot depths, earning an almost relieved moan from her. Sam began sliding his finger in and out, soon adding a second. Gabriel slowly rocked into Melanie, giving Sam the freedom to continue his prep work. He opened up easily with Sam’s skillful fingers and their years of doing this dance, of knowing one another so well. 

“I’m going to make you cum so hard, Gabe,” Sam promised. He was beginning to add the third finger. “Cum so hard, with my cock in you, and you fucking her. You look so hot all stretched out for my cock. You want it, don’t you? You need my cock in your ass.” Sam’s dirty talk litany was endless and creative. Gabriel had picked up the habit a bit in the years of their relationship, but never to the extent that the boy could keep going on and on with the filthy comments, requests, promises. In any case, Gabriel was beyond the point of coherent speech. Fortunately Sam knew exactly what he wanted and was soon carefully kneeling between their legs. He reached down to run a finger around the spot where Gabriel’s dick was entering Melanie, scooping up enough to lubricate his own. Sam poised at the opening of Gabriel’s stretched open hole. 

“You want this, Angel?” he asked, tauntingly. “You want me to tease you like you teased Mel?” He scratched his fingernails up and down Gabriel’s ass cheeks, making the archangel shiver and rock into Melanie just a little harder. She made a delighted noise. Gabriel whimpered. 

“Please Sam,” he asked desperately. “I need to feel your cock. Let me have it.” 

Sam felt a shudder of pleasure run through him at the archangel’s tone. “I love it when you say please,” he said, slapping a stinging handprint on Gabriel’s ass. “Say it again.” 

“ _Please_ ” Gabriel implored. “Please.” 

Sam sighed, too needy himself to prolong the wait, and pressed the head of his cock in. Gabriel stilled, letting him enter all the way. Sam inhaled shakily at the sensation of the archangel wrapped around him, so very hot and tight. “Okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah. Go ahead,” Gabriel said. “Lean on me; I can adjust.” Sam let himself fall forward against Gabriel and slowly slide in and out of him, and Gabriel used his grace to distribute their weight so as not to crush Melanie at the bottom of the pile. The three were soon able to coordinate their movements, albeit slowly. Sam’s careful steady thrusts would push Gabriel into Melanie, who would meet them with her own, grinding herself against Gabriel. Sam brought one arm under Melanie’s leg and raised it up, improving the angle. She came soon afterwards with breathy, wordless cries. Sam squeezed Gabriel’s ass, leaving fingerprint bruises, as he came, gasping. Being surrounded by his beloved humans in the midst of climax, feeling Melanie tightening around his cock, her face blissed out in front of him, and feeling Sam’s cock filling him up with hot cum, sent Gabriel over the edge. His climax tore through him, and he fell utterly to pieces sandwiched between them. 

They spent a long time afterward wrapped up in each other, savoring the connection. It had become rare for the trio to have this sort of uninterrupted time together for sex or even for cuddling. “Pairing off is nice, but it’s also nice to remember that we’re three,” Melanie said thoughtfully, her head snuggled against Gabriel’s shoulder and her legs entangled with Sam’s. 

“We could make a habit of this again,” Sam said. 

“Sure, until you and Dean have a hunt to do. Or my mom calls me out to help her declutter her basement.” 

Gabriel made a face. “Well, I’m not coming out here to masturbate alone in a minivan while you two run off.” Sam laughed and Melanie looked appalled. 

“We’ll make more time for each other,” Sam promised, kissing her on the nose, then seizing Gabriel’s hand and kissing it. “This is too important not to.” 

The next two mornings were spent similarly. When they returned home on the third day, Dean had found a case and urged Sam to hurry up and pack. While they were out on it, Melanie continued her sword training with Castiel, Gabriel heckling from the sidelines. 

“Why don’t you teach me, then?” she huffed when he hooted as Castiel caught her in the shoulder with the practice blade. “You and your archangel superiority.” 

“I’m all tricks, no form,” he answered with a shrug. “I can’t teach you my superiority, kiddo.” He pulled her into his arms and healed the bruises from the shots she hadn’t blocked. 

“You could go running with me,” she suggested. “I kinda miss it with Sam not here.” 

“Why would I run?” he asked, genuinely confused. 

“Solidarity,” she answered. “Ah well nevermind.” 

“I mean, I can make something chase you if it would help.” 

“It would not,” she answered firmly, her blue eyes steely. “If anything chases me because of you, you’re going to be very sorry.” 

Sam and Dean returned the next week and the training schedule resumed, though Gabriel left the next day. “Trickster business,” he said. Sam frowned. 

“Do I want to know?” He had grown used to Gabriel’s occasional mysterious disappearances with this excuse, but he still felt uneasy about them. Clearly there were still situations in the world that the Trickster Archangel felt were his purview to balance out. 

“Fine, call it Archangel of Justice business if it makes you feel better. I’ve got a job to do. If I told you, you’d approve. Maybe.” 

“But you’re not going to tell us?” Melanie sighed. 

“Just trust me, my sexy humans,” he said, pulling them into a group hug. “I’ll be back before you know it. Sex each other up well in my absence.” With that, he disappeared. 

Gabriel returned two days later, grim and tense. He soon relaxed under Sam and Melanie’s patient affections, and did not speak of the job he’d done. There was a few weeks’ lull after that, with the bunker’s occupants all home and at peace together, and they were able to once again resume their usual routines for a short time. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but plotty!

It was 5:30 AM and Sam’s alarm was going off. He was sleeping in the middle of the bed, and he nudged Melanie to get up so he could move. “Time to go run,” he whispered in her ear. 

“No,” she moaned, clutching her pillow. “Go without me today. Too tired.” 

Sam frowned, but he decided against arguing with her about it. He crawled over Gabriel with minimal groping and set off to do his morning run alone. 

Melanie was still sleeping when Gabriel got up an hour later to get Charlotte ready for school. She woke up enough to kiss the child goodbye, but declined going on the drive. She did meet Castiel a short while later for their weapons training session, but her coordination was so awful that he ended it early. Dean’s face made her too angry to feel good about shooting practice. 

“You’re too… smarmy,” she said to her perplexed brother-in-law, who had no idea what he’d done. “Forget it. Ugh. I need a sandwich.” She made herself a tuna and tomato sandwich and devoured it, then put her head down on the kitchen table and fell asleep. 

“I feel like crap,” she mumbled when Sam came into the kitchen and gently awoke her. “Sick, maybe. Ugh, definitely sick.” She scooted off the stool and bolted to the garbage can to throw up in it. Sam made a little noise of pity and squatted down to smooth back her hair. Dean and Castiel were frozen in horror on the other side of the room, where they had been in the act of making a fresh pot of coffee. 

“Poor love,” Sam murmured. “I just made that tuna salad yesterday. I’m surprised it’s gone off already.” 

“Not so much,” Gabriel said from where he leaned against the kitchen doorway, his face grim. He took a few steps and dropped to sit on the floor next to her, a cool washcloth suddenly in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He had already magicked away all the grossness of the vomit, but there was still something soothing about the comfort items. 

She felt a dizzying sense of déjà vu. “Yeah, well it’s not like I could be…” Her voice trailed off, remembering the day that Charlotte was born and Gabriel breaking the news to her that her uterus had been removed to keep her from bleeding out. He had just barely managed to save her life, and had had to let the medical team perform the normal procedures to avoid blowing his cover. Only a tweak of his grace, no full-blown miracles back when no one knew that the Archangel Gabriel was hiding on Earth. 

“Weeeelllll…” he said hesitantly, looking away. 

“Gabriel,” she said sharply. “What is going on here?” 

He smoothed his hand low over her belly. “It would seem that, when Castiel put you back together… well I guess he’s got a certain idea of how female bodies are meant to be constructed. I don’t think he had any idea that all that was not supposed to be there anymore.” 

“What,” she said flatly. Everyone turned to look at Castiel. 

“I don’t understand,” Castiel said with a frown. “I used the information in her DNA and reconstructed the damaged tissue. Just as I did when I resurrected Dean, but on a much smaller scale.” 

“You did a factory reset. Only, some of it had been gone for years, Cassie. Hysterectomy, when Charlotte was born. You didn’t know,” Gabriel sighed. “But can’t you see the spark now?” 

Castiel squinted at Melanie’s abdomen. “Yes, of course. There is the beginnings of a new child. Was that not known? It is why she could not keep her footing at blade practice this morning. Her equilibrium is affected.” Melanie emitted a little cry and collapsed back against Sam. 

Dean let out an excited whoop. “Hell yeah! Another little Winchester around here!” 

Sam glared up at him. “Dude. Your boyfriend got my girlfriend pregnant without consulting her. Let’s hold off on the celebration.” 

“You make it sound so creepy,” Dean muttered. “Hey, you guys already have one great kid, and I am excited to have another one around. No diaper duty, though. Did enough of that on you.” Sam made a horrified face.

“But that’s the problem,” said Gabriel quietly. “What if it’s not Sam’s?” 

Dean shrugged. “I’m still Uncle Dean either way, right? I’m sure your kid would be… wait, that works? Archangels can…?” 

Castiel and Gabriel exchanged a glance. Gabriel’s eyes were filled with fear and pain. “Oh Brother…” Castiel moaned guiltily. “I’m so sorry.” He slumped against Dean. 

“What’s wrong?” Melanie whimpered, tears springing to her eyes. The dizzying concept of suddenly being pregnant again – a literal miracle – had barely had time to sink in before she realized that there was something scary and dreadful that the angels were not saying. She clutched at Sam’s sleeve, and he tightened his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. 

“The children of humans and angels… have not been allowed to… they’re considered abominations and Dad… ordered us – ordered _me_ to…” Gabriel winced at the memory and Melanie reached out to squeeze his hand. 

“Hey, let’s not borrow trouble just yet, okay?” she said gently. “At some point, will we be able to figure out whose it is? Haven’t you got some sort of angelic DNA scanning ability in your toolbox?” 

“Weirdest episode of Maury ever,” Dean muttered, scooping up the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup. 

“Our Father is not around,” Castiel observed thoughtfully. “And you don’t seem to be taking his orders lately.” 

Gabriel stood up, stepping into the younger angel’s personal space, radiating anger. “Just because Daddy hasn’t given me any orders in a while does not mean that I’m a disobedient son, Castiel. I have never defied what He has told me to do. I am ever His Servant.” 

Castiel shrugged, unmoved by Gabriel’s posturing. “As you said, you have no orders. I’m sure a several millennia old command no longer applies.” 

Gabriel relaxed a little. “We’ll just have to hope that that is the case.” 

“I need to lie down,” Melanie said. She sat on the floor, the tiles cool under her legs, and Sam’s body strong against her back. She concentrated on the sensations, grounding her to reality. Reality, what was real anyway? This could not be real. Her body was never supposed to hold another baby inside of it. She had reconciled herself to that reality and cried her tears over seven years ago. Charlotte was to be forever an only child. Now maybe a sibling, maybe a half-angel sibling who _God himself_ probably wanted dead. It was too much, and she let unconsciousness take her over, slumping against Sam’s chest. Gabriel scooped her gently into his arms and carried her to bed. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make my heart sing with joy. :)

Melanie spent the next few weeks in a daze. Often she would forget for hours, or even days. Gabriel was continually resetting the minor imbalances that led to the nausea, which was by far the worst symptom. Things still smelled very strongly, her breasts were growing swollen and tender, and she napped frequently. Gabriel declined to try to ease those symptoms for her. “Much of that is a byproduct of things that need to happen. The nausea is easy; it’s because you don’t eat often enough. But I can’t change your hormone levels, kiddo. And the boobs, weellll…” He shrugged and leered at her, earning himself a good-natured thwack with the notebook in her hand. 

The changes to her life were subtle at first. She looked wistfully at the beer everyone else was drinking with Friday night pizza. Every time the boys saw her carrying anything, even something as simple as a few grocery bags, someone swept in to do it for her. 

As the first few months passed and she thought about how the baby would be developing, she asked Gabriel a few times if he knew anything about it yet. “Can’t tell you much yet, Sugar. It’s healthy, you’re healthy. Don’t stress.” He smoothed her hair back and kissed her forehead gently. “Love you.” 

“I love you, Gabe.” She melted into his arms, but for the first time it didn’t make her feel safe.

Dean announced after dinner one night as he sat poking around on his laptop that he’d found a case. “Werewolves, maybe rugaru, something hungry anyway. Buncha messy bodies.” 

“I’m gonna sit this one out,” Sam said. “Cas can go. I have something I need to work on.” 

“Okay,” Dean said with a shrug. 

Dean and Castiel left the next morning on their hunt. Melanie handed Castiel a box of blueberry muffins and a tin of butterscotch cookies for the drive, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She’d been up in the wee hours of the morning, restless and hungry, and had gone on a bit of a baking spree. 

“Thank you Melanie,” he said solemnly, holding the baked goods with the utmost care. 

“Awesome. Road snacks,” said Dean with a grin. Melanie stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek, too. 

“Take care of yourselves,” she said. 

Charlotte bounded into the kitchen and attached herself to Castiel’s legs. “You goin? You guys goin for a job?” she asked breathlessly. 

“Fraid so, Pipsqueak. You gotta look after your parental trio for us, got it?” said Dean, squatting down to ruffle her hair. 

“Of COURSE I will,” she agreed, turning to wrap her arms around his neck. “You guys have fun, okay? I hope it is a fun job and you come home smiley.” 

“That’d be nice,” Dean agreed. “We’ll do our best. K, Cas, let’s hit the road.” They shuffled out and drove off toward Louisiana. 

While the bunker was a bit quieter for a few days, the three found themselves drifting into different solitary tasks. Melanie had claimed a storage room and begun rigging up an indoor garden. The few container gardens she’d done on the roof in previous years had not gone well, and she decided to switch tactics this year. She put together the lights she’d ordered and started seedlings for tomatoes, peppers, and squashes. Sam, meanwhile, was deep in the archives doing some mysterious research. Gabriel was frequently just gone. They supposed he was probably out of the bunker somewhere, but he said nothing about his days. Melanie wondered if it was usual Trickster business or something to do with the baby. But since the baby seemed to be an unspoken taboo subject, and Gabriel was evasive about Trickster business in general, she decided not to ask. 

She was also starting to suspect that her body was increasingly part of that taboo. At first, when it scarcely seemed real, nothing had changed between the three of them. But as the weeks went on it began to seem that Sam was avoiding her. Hugs and kisses and comforting caresses were still frequent and tender, but nothing more intimate. She wondered if there was something horribly broken between them. But sometimes they talked and laughed just as they always had, and she could feel the connection between them just as it had been, emotionally, if not physically. 

She sought him out one day in the dusty archives. It was the day after Dean and Castiel had left, Charlotte was in school, and Gabriel had angeled off for the day. Sam was kneeling on the floor, poking through a stack of files on a low shelf. “Hey, Sexy,” she purred close behind him, her hands on his shoulders. 

“Mel,” he said warmly, seizing one hand and kissing it. “How are you feeling?” 

“Fine,” she said a touch peevishly. She was getting sick of that question. “Can I distract you for a bit?” she offered, sliding her other hand inside his shirt collar. 

He sighed. “I really should keep going with this… project.” 

Melanie jerked her hand away and backed up. “Okay,” she said tightly. “Sorry to have bothered you.” 

“It’s okay, I just can’t…” he protested, reaching out toward her. 

“Fine,” she snapped, stalking out of the room. She wandered around but nowhere in the bunker felt comfortable now, not even in the room watching her little seedlings grow. Melanie snatched up her keys and drove off toward town. She went shopping until it was time to pick Charlotte up from school. Impulsively she bought an outfit. A tiny green and yellow striped knit sleeper with a matching peaked hat. It had a little giraffe embroidered on the front. She tucked the bag away in the bottom of her purse and sat in the parking lot of the department store sobbing. 

That night, she fell asleep next to Charlotte while putting her to bed. She woke at 1 in the morning and started back towards her bedroom, but stopped short outside the door when she heard the unmistakable noises. At least Sam and Gabriel were just fine with each other. She turned away and went back to Charlotte’s room, and never returned to her own bed that night. 

The next few days, she developed a habit of either staying in Charlotte’s room, or falling asleep in front of the TV, or simply remaining awake most of the night and napping during the day. Anything to avoid facing the reality that her relationship with Sam was crumbling. It was hard, alone in the middle of the night, not to dwell on it. Losing Sam would likely pull Gabriel away from her as well, she thought as she sobbed into the throw pillows of the couch. It didn’t seem fair that this was all about the pregnancy that no one wanted to talk about, and all of the blame seemed to be on her. 

Angrily, she punched the pillow, then threw it at the TV. She considered marching into the bedroom and demanding answers, but the thought of being treated like a crazy hormonal woman shut that idea down. Intent on reviewing her worst hits, her brain served up the memory of her ex-boyfriend calling her a “hysterical crazy bitch” when she objected to him picking up girls at a bar as part of “researching a case.” The guy had also frequently reminded her how lucky she was that he was okay with fat chicks, because most guys would not be so accommodating, especially not big shot hunters like him. And when her health had started to fail and the doctor said it was fibromyalgia, and they both knew that a hunter with no reflexes or reliable strength would never last long, he’d dropped her off in her grandmother’s driveway without so much as a goodbye. Melanie buried her face in the couch and sobbed until she fell asleep. 

She was woken up entirely too early the next morning by her phone ringing. Dean’s ringtone. “Hey, what’s up?” 

“Heading home. Be there in a few hours. Uhh… Cas and I are bringing someone. Just wanted to give you a heads up. It’s a long story.” 

“Like… company? Should I make brunch? Put out the good tea set?” 

“No like… permanent. I’ll explain when we get there, okay? Um, it’s a kid, so. I figured you’d know what to do. Gotta go. See you soon.” With that, he ended the call and Melanie was left lying there staring at her phone. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet a new character!

Dean stalked through the kitchen of the little suburban house and jumped over the still-smoldering body of the rugaru. The flames did not seem to be dying down anytime soon. Probably dumb to torch it in the house, but he hadn’t had many good options at the time. He threw open the basement door, expecting there to be a fire extinguisher hanging up just inside the door. It was a pretty good guess; normal houses had those, right? He was not expecting the hammer that hit him in the shoulder. 

“Sweet jesus fucking holy –“ he ranted, grabbing the hand holding the hammer. “That hurts, goddammit.” It was a small hand. Dean looked down. Way down. The hand was attached to a kid who barely came up to his chest. Shaggy hair hung in the kid’s eyes, reminding him of a younger Sammy. The frightened but determined look on the young face also put him in mind of his little brother. 

“What’s your deal, kid?” Dean asked. “Are you hiding from this?” he asked, gesturing at the smoking corpse. “Cause Cas and me took care of it.” 

“You’re too late, you idiot,” the kid replied, tears falling from red-rimmed eyes. “It killed my parents.” 

“I’m sorry,” Castiel said, placing a comforting hand on the child’s shoulder and leading them out of the basement stairway. “Are you uninjured? What is your name?” 

“Bailey,” came the response. Bailey was about eleven or twelve, with a strong, sturdy build; clad in jeans and purple Nikes and a tshirt with sharks on it, and carrying a heavy blue backpack. Now that they were out of the dark basement doorway, they could see that the kid had dark blond hair, overgrown and hanging in the hazel eyes and over the rounded babyish cheeks. “’M fine,” they mumbled. 

“Well, Bailey, is there someone else we can take you to, someone who can take care of you?” Dean asked, rubbing his shoulder. He didn’t think anything was broken but it was going to be one hell of a bruise. Could hardly blame the kid for swinging at anything that came at them, though. 

“No other family. It was just us. The rest of them… we haven’t talked to them in a long time. They don’t like that I’m… weird.” The last word was said with twisted bitterness. 

“I don’t understand. How are you weird? What could be weird enough for a family to cut off a child?” Castiel said, frowning. 

“They don’t like that I’m not a boy or a girl. They think that… my head is screwed up, you know? And that I should get my head adjusted. My parents told them to fuck off.” Bailey shrugged. “Anyway. No family that wants me.” With that, the kid burst into tears. 

Castiel was used to sobbing children now. The procedure with Charlotte was to move away quickly and just let her kick things for a while. So Castiel took a step backwards, and was surprised when Bailey launched themself at him and wrapped their arms around him, squeezing tightly. The child buried their face in his shirt front and kept crying. Castiel warily moved a hand to pat Bailey soothingly on the back, raising his eyes to look at Dean in confusion. Dean was smirking a little at Cas’s predicament, but there was something soft in his eyes, too. 

“You know, I don’t subscribe to any human gender,” Castiel found himself saying, what he hoped was comfortingly. “I have over the years grown used to wearing a male vessel and the trappings associated with it, but I do not feel strongly rooted in that, for all that it’s worth.” 

Bailey sniffled a bit, choking back the last sobs, and pulled away, looking at Castiel curiously. “Buddy, you sure do talk funny.” 

“You don’t know the half of it,” Dean cut in. “But you get used to it after a while.” He glanced over at the almost forgotten body of the rugaru, still smoldering. No, still burning. Up against the curtain. Which was also burning. 

“I think it’s time to get out of here,” Dean said pointedly, grabbing Bailey’s shoulder and steering them through the kitchen door. “Probably best to just let this place go up. Less questions that way.” 

“Where am I going?” Bailey asked desperately, stumbling out onto the patio with Dean steering them forcefully away from the fire. 

“Come with us,” Castiel said, his eyes meeting Dean’s in an unspoken desperate plea. 

“For now, at least. Till we get things figured out,” Dean added. 

“Promise you’re not creeps?” 

“Not creeps,” Dean affirmed. 

“What _are_ you, then?” 

“We’re hunters,” said Dean. “We hunt monsters. Ghosts. Vampires. Demons. And that thing, which is a rugaru.” 

“I’m an angel,” Castiel corrected. “Dean says I’m a terrible hunter.” 

“What- Cas, seriously? You’re still holding that against me? That was a long time ago,” he spluttered. Dean held the back door of the Impala open for Bailey. “Get comfy, kid. Long drive to Kansas.” 

“Seriously, this is your car? This is hella sweet!” 

Dean beamed proudly. “Yeah she is.” He watched as Bailey climbed in and stroked the seats reverently. “Smart kid,” he commented to Cas, shutting the door and walking around the car. “No idea what we’re going to do with a kid, but…” 

“We cannot just let them go to the system, Dean. There are still many people who are cruel about gender nonconformity and they will be ruthless.” 

Dean shifted. “Yeah? How do you know that, anyway?” 

“I follow the news, Dean. There is a lot of anger in this society and these children can be targeted.” Castiel waved his hands in agitation. Dean caught one and kissed it. 

“It’s okay, calm down Angel. The kid’s not going anywhere. God knows the frigging bunker is filling up with kids faster than I can blink. Now let’s head back to the motel and pack up and get out of town. “ 

Castiel opened the passenger door and got in the car. Bailey scooted forward on the seat and said “So, um. Angel, huh? Tell me about that.” 


	10. Chapter 10

Melanie was still staring at her phone when Gabriel found her a few minutes later. 

“I’ve missed you lately,” he said without preamble, dropping to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of her. “Is it causing you that much discomfort? You’re so restless; you barely sleep. I don’t think this is normal. I can’t detect anything wrong with you, but maybe I should call Freyja in again. Though that might be a little complicated since she thinks I’m dead. But she was pretty helpful last time, yeah?” 

“Freyja? Like… Norse mythology Freyja?” Melanie said skeptically. 

“Yeah, you remember. Sassy redhead, cat tattoos, bitchin’ necklace. I hooked you guys up at the midwifey office?” Melanie sat up suddenly, staring down at him. 

“You- holy crap Gabe! You mean Amber, the midwife? She was-” 

Gabriel grinned. “I’m _good_ at disguises. And she kinda owed me.” 

“Uh. _Wow._ But um, no. I don’t think I need to see anyone. Until we know… what if we can’t…” _I don’t exactly want to start prenatal care if it’s an abomination and you have to kill it,_ she thought, apparently loud enough for Gabriel to look uncomfortable and change the subject. 

“So what did Dean-O want? They okay?” 

“Yeah, apparently they’re bringing a kid home with them.” 

Gabriel blinked. “Oookay. This should be interesting.” 

“Right? Um, I guess… you should probably inform Sam.” 

Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at her. “Or you could.” 

“Or I couldn’t.” She folded her arms and tried to look resolute, but her stupid lip started to tremble and she just barely managed to avoid crying again. 

“Melanie… are you actually _avoiding_ Sam now?” Gabriel moved up to sit next to her on the couch and seize her hands, his face suddenly tight with worry. “I know you guys have been kinda edgy with each other, but…” 

“He doesn’t want me anymore.” There was no holding back the tears now. 

Gabriel gaped at her. “Did he really say that?” he asked skeptically. 

“No, but he just… doesn’t,” she whimpered. Gabriel pulled her close against his chest. 

“Oh Sweetness… I think you had better talk to him. I don’t like seeing the two of you miserable.” 

“Sam’s not miserable. I’m miserable.” 

“Okay, number one, I don’t like seeing either of you miserable. Number two, I don’t think you really know what Sam’s really thinking or feeling, especially since you won’t talk to him. Number three,” he grabbed her shoulders and pulled away from her, staring her down with an intense gaze. “You kids either sort it out or I’ll lock you in a pocket universe together until you do.” His voice had gone hard and angry, with the tiniest ring of power behind it. Melanie had never been on the receiving end of Gabriel’s tricks, not really, but she knew everything he had done to Sam and Dean in the past. 

“You’re scaring me,” she said. “Please, Gabriel, let me go.” 

Gabriel closed his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, relaxing his posture and taking his hands off of her. “I’m very frazzled but threatening you is inexcusable.” He sighed. Sometimes he forgot the difference in dealing with her versus dealing with Sam. “It would make me very happy if you and Sam would work through this, but I cannot make you do it.” 

Melanie leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead. “Forgiven.” She stood up off the couch, stretching. Gabriel watched the curves of her body moving under her clothes as she moved. Her breasts had gone up at least a cup size in the last two months and they bounced deliciously under her t-shirt. 

“Where are you headed, Beautiful?” he asked. 

“Going to go talk to Sam,” she replied resignedly, walking away. 

Sam was still in bed, twisted up in the sheet and sound asleep. One long leg poked out from the covers, his foot just hanging over the edge of the bed. His hair was covering his face and his mouth was partly open. Melanie gulped. It was so hard to fight the urge to lie down next to him and run her hands up and down his leg, tickle his foot, smooth his hair off his face, anything. “Hey,” she barked, more sharply than she had planned. He jerked awake. “Sorry,” she said, wincing. “I just wanted to tell you, Dean called. He says they’re headed home and they have some kid with them, coming to stay here. He was really vague on the phone.” 

Sam blinked up at her. “Um. Okay.” He sat up and stretched. The sheet fell away from his body, showing every ripple of muscle under the taut skin. Melanie squeezed her hands into fists, digging her fingernails into her palms. “’S there coffee?” 

“Gabe might be making it, I think?” She turned toward the dresser and started digging out clothes. Jeans, while she could still wear them. A stretchy sweater that would actually fit her enormous new boobs. Wardrobe choices were dwindling. With a start she realized that she would have to buy maternity clothes soon. If this pregnancy kept on. If only Gabriel could figure out what it was. There was a thought buried in the back of her mind, that maybe the best thing would be to just go ahead and end it. If it was half angel, that would probably be necessary, given the horrified way the angels had reacted to that possibility. But if it was fully human, surely there was no reason to do that. Maybe Sam wasn’t happy about it, but she’d done this alone before, and if it came down to it she could again. 

“That sweater must have really pissed you off,” Sam said blithely. She had been frowning at the clothes in her hand. 

“Are you angry that I’m pregnant or are you only angry if it’s Gabriel’s? Or if it’s yours?” she blurted out, turning to face him. Her blue eyes scanned his face. 

Sam’s mouth dropped open. “What?” he said. “I’m not- I’m not angry at all. At you? Why would I be angry at you?” He reached a hand to stroke her cheek gently. “Oh, Mel. Sweetheart.” His eyes were sad as he bent down to kiss her tenderly. Melanie made a strangled cry in her throat and slid her hands around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. Sam’s hands started to drift down her body, then he pulled back and straightened up. 

“Why, then?” she asked. “Why are you so distant?” 

“I’m not,” he denied. “I’ve just been busy.” He sat down on the bed. “I’m sorry if you feel neglected, and that you took that for anger. I love you very much.” 

She smiled a little. “I love you, Sam. I’ve been so scared… it’s not the lack of sex, exactly, but worrying about what that means. I thought maybe you didn’t want me anymore.” She straddled his lap, her hands on his shoulders. 

“I _want_ you,” he growled passionately, pressing his forehead to hers. “So much. But we _can’t_.” 

“Why can’t we?” 

“The- the baby-“ 

“Sam! Are you serious? People can still have sex when they’re pregnant.” Melanie laughed and kissed his nose. 

He sighed. “I know! That’s normally the case but- but this is different. We have no idea what could happen. Mel, I’m so afraid, and I didn’t want to worry you with it. I’ve been reading in the lore, constantly, looking for anything about Nephilim. They’re powerful and the pregnancies could often be dangerous. A half-strength angel with a fetal comprehension. Bad things have happened.” 

“Did you run any of this by Gabriel? Because he sure did not seem worried.” 

“Well no, I didn’t,” he admitted. “I figured he might not want to talk about it.” 

“It may not be his favorite subject, but I think he’d rather help us figure it out than… what’s been going on here lately. We should, all three of us, sit down and talk together. I’m kind of scared too. And the scariest thing was thinking that you blamed me for letting this happen and that I was losing you. I hate the idea of going through another pregnancy alone.” 

“Never. Never alone again,” Sam said fervently, cradling her face between his hands. “I’m with you.” He kissed her, caressing her face and tangling fingers in her hair. Melanie started to push him back onto the bed when there was a gentle little tapping on the bedroom door. They both groaned in exasperation. Melanie stood up and walked to the door, opening it a crack. 

“What’s up, Buttercup?” she asked, peering down at Charlotte. “Isn’t Gabe in the kitchen?” 

“Don’t know. Didn’t look,” she replied, bouncing on one foot. She was still in pajamas and her hair was unbrushed. “I want to go to the park today. Are we going to the park? Cause it’s Saturday. Wanna feed the ducks.” 

Sam had thrown his clothes on quickly and stepped up beside Melanie, opening the door the rest of the way. “Mornin’ Lottie,” he said, his face breaking into a huge smile. She reached her arms up and he picked her up for kisses and snuggles. 

“Well, Dean and Cas are on their way back today, and apparently, there’s going to be a kid coming with them too. Soooo I think we’re going to stick around here and wait for them. What do you think? Plus, we can get that new Lego set put together. Come on, let’s get you dressed and fed.” He carried Charlotte out of the room and down the hallway, squeezing Melanie’s shoulder on the way by. The rest of the conversation would have to wait, but they were already so much better. Melanie felt a great sense of relief. 

She dressed quickly and tied a scarf over her hair. She anticipated a long morning of cleaning one of the spare bedrooms, then working on her garden project. She soon found herself lost in the chores, occasionally drifting to the library corner where Sam and Charlotte were building the huge Lego spaceship set that had been sitting untouched in the box for weeks. Melanie realized guiltily that she wasn’t the only one that Sam had not had much time for lately. 

By noon she had the bedroom dusted and scrubbed, fresh sheets on the bed, and most of the clutter moved to the storage room. Gabriel had still not reappeared and she wondered if he was even still in the bunker. She decided that it wasn’t worth praying over and went to fetch the furniture dolly to deal with the heavy box of books that had been in the corner. She managed to shove and kick the box onto the dolly after a bit of struggle, and finally wheeled it out of the room. She went and deposited it in the library. Sam looked up from the handful of tiny plastic Lego pieces and smiled affectionately at her, and she returned the look with a little sigh. Melanie had almost forgotten how that look from Sam could make her feel. 

Charlotte peered over the table at them. “You guys have heart eyes,” she said, giggling. 

“That’s because your mom is the most beautiful woman in the world,” Sam answered. Melanie felt tears trickling down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been, to think that he had fallen out of love with her. She walked over to him and bent down to kiss him on the top of the head before continuing down the winding corridors toward her garden room. 

The seeds were sprouting, a few inches high out of every little compartment of the egg cartons. Castiel had helped her bring in 5 gallon pails of soil over the last few weeks, and gradually she was moving the little seedlings that were doing the best into their own pots under the lighting system. Dean had rolled his eyes at her “pot growing thing” but had strung up the lights on the high racks, according to her directions. She decided not to mention that she had learned about this technique from her father, who had in fact been growing pot at the time. 

Melanie dug in the cool crumbs of black soil with her bare hands. She soon lost herself in the meditative task, intent on the nourishing soil and the fragile green leaves. The hours ticked away as she worked on bringing fresh new life into the bunker. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it was hard to get these crazy kids talking! Hopefully the next few chapters will come more smoothly.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, Dean, Cas, and Bailey are making their way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attack

Dean had driven all night. Breakfast had been a quick drive-through for donuts and coffee somewhere in Oklahoma, and then Dean had swapped seats with Castiel. After slamming his breakfast and calling Melanie, Dean had curled up against the window, head pillowed on a balled-up flannel shirt, and caught a few hours of sleep. 

Bailey had fallen asleep during the night, stretched out on the backseat. Now that the sun was up and the driving was more sedate, they sat up, wakeful, and leaned on the back of the seat. “Hey, um, Cas?” they said tentatively. 

“Yes, Bailey?” replied the angel. 

“Are we gonna stop sometime again?” Bailey studied Castiel from under a mop of unruly blond hair, fascinated by the textbook precision of Castiel’s driving methods, and the way his face crinkled when he smiled. 

Castiel looked down at the instrument panel. “I believe we will need fuel within the hour.” 

“Can it be, like, quicker?” Bailey squirmed a little. 

“Oh. _Oh._ Should I just stop here?” Castiel looked worried. In spite of many years of close quarters, humans were confusing sometimes. He frowned, thinking about his lack of understanding of human biology and what had happened to Melanie. 

“Ugh, no, not on the highway! Um, like the next gas station would be great. It’s okay. I can wait a little while.” 

Castiel pulled the car up to the pump at the Gas’n’Sip. Bailey scooted out of the backseat and headed toward the store. “Do you… do you need someone to accompany you?” Castiel asked. When they were on an outing with Charlotte, someone always went into the restroom with her. On rare occasions, Castiel had had the duty of walking the child into the men’s room and standing awkwardly outside the stall door. 

“No!” Bailey snorted. “I’m not a baby.” 

“Of course not,” Castiel said, operating the gas pump. “See you in a moment then.” 

Castiel watched the door anxiously after he hung up the pump and replaced the gas cap. Dean continued snoring and drooling against the passenger side window. At last, Bailey came outside and slid back into the car, bearing a small plastic bag from the store. “I got you a candy bar too,” they said shyly. “You seem like a Peppermint Patty kind of guy.” 

“It sounds delightful,” Castiel said, beaming. “How thoughtful.” He took the offered sweet and started the car up. 

Bailey was much chattier after that, explaining details of the video games they played and how they had defeated the various monsters within that. Several hours later, Dean was starting to wake up, and Bailey’s stomach was rumbling again. 

“Lunch?” Castiel asked, gazing fondly at his partner as Dean wiped the drool from his chin and blinked hazy green eyes. 

“Izzit that time?” he mumbled. “Is the kid hungry?” 

“Food sounds good,” Bailey admitted. 

“Tastes even better!” Dean said, snickering at his own joke. Castiel gave him a baffled look that cracked into a hint of a smile. 

Castiel navigated the car into the parking lot of a diner. The building was decked out in plentiful chrome and neon. Inside, Bailey slid into the shiny red vinyl booth next to the window, with Castiel just behind them and 

Dean sprawled out on the seat across. There was a mini jukebox at the table and Bailey started to dig through their pocket for quarters. 

“Here you go,” Castiel said, producing a handful of quarters. Beaming, Bailey fed them into the machine and started punching numbers. Fall Out Boy began blaring from the speakers. Dean shot Castiel a wounded look and picked up the menu to read it. 

“Ahhh… could I perhaps choose one?” Castiel asked. 

“’Course, they’re your quarters,” Bailey answered. Castiel leaned over and punched a few buttons, then gestured that Bailey should continue. 

The waitress walked up to their table. “What can I get you folks to drink?” 

“Two coffees,” said Dean, pointing to himself and Castiel. “How ‘bout you, Kid?” 

“Oh, coffee for me too,” Bailey said eagerly. 

Dean squinted. “You’re too young for coffee.” 

“I’m 47. It’s all the coffee that keeps me this short,” Bailey deadpanned. Dean threw up his hands in defeat. 

The song shifted and the opening chords of Kashmir began to play. Dean smiled broadly. “Aw, Cas, you sap.” He reached across the table to squeeze the angel’s hand. 

“It’s ‘our song’,” Castiel said to Bailey. “This was playing when we had our first dance together.” 

“Was that when you met?” Bailey asked. 

“Oh no, several years later,” Castiel answered. “It took a long time, and my brother’s interference, for us to realize that this was more than friendship.” 

“So, how did you meet?” Bailey asked eagerly. 

Dean and Castiel exchanged a look. 

“Okay, so I was stuck in Hell…” Dean began. “Long story. Anyway, uh, Cas pulled me out.” 

“Whoa. So like… a guy pulls you out of Hell and it takes you years to figure out that he _likes_ you?” Bailey said, squinting at Dean. 

“Hey, I never said I was the brightest. My brother’s the brainiac, I’m just-” 

“Dean, stop it. You are brilliant,” Castiel interrupted. “But yes, it was complicated. As most human emotions are.” 

Their coffees were served, and Bailey busied themself stirring numerous sugars and creamers into their cup. Dean watched, mildly horrified. 

“My mom always tells me not… to put so much sugar in,” Bailey said quietly. They shifted in the seat, growing agitated. They started flexing their hands into fists over and over again and breathing rapidly. “I just want my mom! I don’t know- I can’t-“ a shiver passed through the child. “Can’t breathe!” 

“Shhhh,” Castiel said, putting an arm around Bailey’s shoulder. “There, there.” He looked helplessly at Dean. 

“Hey, I know it feels right now like you’ll never get through it. But you will. You just keep going, kid. One moment after another. I promise. I- I was littler than you, okay? And…” Dean trailed off uneasily. He didn’t seem to be helping. Bailey was staring at him with huge hazel eyes and heaving breathy sobs now. 

“I want you to try drawing this pattern,” Castiel said, placing a pen in Bailey’s hand and turning the paper placemat over. “Draw spirals one way when you breathe in, and the other way when you breathe out. Just keep making spirals.” Bailey took the pen in a shaking hand and started to draw. Soon the paper was covered with spirals, and they were able to take a sip of coffee and wipe their eyes with Castiel’s handkerchief. Bailey’s breathing normalized, but Castiel kept his arm around the child’s shoulder as they burrowed against him. 

The waitress brought their food. Bailey had the fried shrimp basket, with honey mustard instead of cocktail sauce. The shrimp, the fries, and even the pickle spear got dipped in honey mustard. 

“Anything else you put honey mustard on? Jello? Frosted flakes?” Dean asked teasingly. 

“I wash my hair with honey mustard, too,” Bailey added, giggling. “Honey mustard is GOOD. It’s the BEST. You don’t even know. Try some.” They held out the dish, nearly empty. 

“Not on my barbecue burger, man. That’s just weird.” Dean tentatively dipped a fry in the stuff. “Eh,” he pronounced it. “It’s not that gross but I’ll save it for you,” he said with a wink. Then, “Hey, Kid, do you like bacon?” 

“Yeah!” Bailey said enthusiastically. “But I’m pretty full of shrimp right now.” 

“Mac and cheese?” 

“Of course!” 

“That settles it. I’m tryin’ that recipe tonight when we get home. I’ve got this one clipped at home. Bacon mac and cheese with a freshly grated four cheese blend in a béchamel sauce. It’ll be divine.” 

“Speaking of home, we should probably get back on the road,” Castiel suggested, tucking the rest of his sandwich, barely touched, into the takeout box for Dean to finish later. Dean nodded, dropping a few bills onto the table, and stood up to stretch. 

It was late afternoon when they pulled up to the bunker. Bailey looked up at the huge structure. 

“Okay, which one of you is Daddy Warbucks?” they said with a sigh. 

“Guess that’s gotta be me. Cas is Grace,” Dean smirked. “Hey Cas, wouldn’t I look good with a bald head and a tux?” 

Castiel stared at Dean, quirking an eyebrow. “Dean, my love, you would look good in any style you choose, but that seems very unlike you. And I’m not sure what my grace has to do with it.” 

Dean laughed and squeezed Castiel’s shoulder. “I’ll explain later. Come on, Kid, let’s go meet the family.” 


	12. Chapter 12

Melanie had just finished the repotting of the last tomato plant when Gabriel appeared in her garden. “Just heard that noisy bucket of bolts pull up,” he informed her. He was clad rather… angelically. His hair was slicked back and he had on an impeccable white dress shirt and slate gray slacks and a jacket. He was even wearing a tie, although it was printed with rubber ducks. 

Melanie snorted. “Don’t let Dean catch you calling it that.” She reached up to fiddle with his tie. 

Gabriel rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, changing into a simple blue button down shirt and jeans. “Anyway. They’re home, and yes, there’s a kid with them. Seems to be an average human kid.” 

They went down the hallway and into the library. Dean and Cas were standing there at the bottom of the stairs, Bailey standing between them. Charlotte was bouncing up and down in front of Bailey. 

“We weren’t quite sure what to expect from Dean’s message, but we got a bedroom ready for you,” Sam was saying. “I hope it’s okay.” 

“Ahh, here comes the rest of the family,” Dean said. “Mel, Gabriel, meet Bailey. Kid knows basically everything about sharks, and has crappy taste in music. But great taste in cars.” 

“Hey, nice to meet you,” Melanie said warmly. “Hope you like it here.” 

“Sharks are kinda cool,” Charlotte said. “Gabe and I watched a movie about sharks in a tornado.” At that, Sam and Melanie turned in unison to stare at the archangel. He shrugged sheepishly. 

“Sharks are the BEST,” Bailey said. “And there are so many kinds! I wish I could show you my shark books. OOH but I have some pictures here,” Bailey said, setting down their backpack and digging through it for a sketchbook. They were soon sitting on the floor, engrossed in showing Charlotte all the shark drawings they had done and explaining everything about them. Castiel sat in a chair nearby and watched the sketchbook pages flip. Dean bent down to kiss him, then walked toward the kitchen. Melanie and Sam followed behind him. 

“What happened out there?” Sam asked in a low voice. Dean pulled a beer out of the fridge and opened it. 

“Rugaru,” Dean answered. “Got the kid’s parents, we got there too late.” 

“So you bring the kid home with you?” Sam said, incredulous. 

“Cas’s idea. Kid doesn’t have anyone else. I dunno, man. Before I knew it, it was just happening. They – Bailey’ll have to explain it to you, we’re sposed to use ‘they’ – wanted to come with us. Kinda likes us I guess.” He set his beer down with a thunk and started pulling things out of cupboards. Cooking and deep thinking meshed well for Dean, and he clearly had much to mull over. “Now go on, let me cook,” he grumbled, and they left the kitchen again, hand in hand. 

When they went back into the library, Charlotte and Bailey were examining Charlotte’s Lego creations. Castiel and Gabriel were sitting across from each other at one of the tables, having what looked to be a blinking contest that no one was losing anytime soon. Melanie sat on the chair next to Gabriel and propped her feet up on his lap. He automatically began rubbing them. Though his movements were slow and careful, she could feel that he was tense. It probably had to do with whatever he was ‘discussing’ with his brother. Castiel looked worried. And perhaps a little frustrated with Gabriel. 

“Hey Bailey, do you want to see your room?” Melanie called. 

“Sure,” they said, beaming. Charlotte got up and followed them down the corridor. “This is my room,” Charlotte said proudly as they passed the open door. The room was fairly untidy, but cozy, with white wooden furniture. The four poster bed was draped with swags of filmy pink fabric, and the stark walls were relieved here and there by pictures of princesses and cats. 

“Okay,” Bailey said cautiously. 

“Fraid yours isn’t as exciting,” Melanie said mirthfully. “It’s clean, though.” She opened the door, two down from Charlotte’s. Bailey walked in and looked around. There wasn’t much to take in. They set their backpack down on the desk and sat experimentally on the bed. 

“You can make it more exciting as time goes on, I guess,” Melanie said. Bailey smiled wanly, but their eyes were distant. “Shall we leave you to settle in?” 

“Yeah, that would be good.” Melanie ushered a squirmy Charlotte out the door. Charlotte whined a little, not wanting to separate from the new playmate, but Melanie was firm. 

Sam had retreated back to his research. Melanie sat back down next to Gabriel and swiped his lollipop out of his mouth. 

“At this point I should probably just give up on protesting,” he said with a sigh, snapping up a new one. 

“You should,” she agreed. “I don’t even like lollipops. I just do it to provoke you.” 

Charlotte went to Castiel and climbed into his lap. He smoothed her hair down meditatively. “I missed you,” she said. “Was your job fun?” 

“Ahhh… not fun, exactly, no.” Castiel said awkwardly. 

“Howcome you brought a kid home with you? You don’t usually do that.” 

“No, we don’t, do we? Well, once we did bring you home.” 

“That’s different,” Charlotte said. “Whose kid is Bailey?” 

“Mine,” Castiel answered. “I have taken responsibility for them.” 

Charlotte stared up at Castiel’s face. She grabbed his chin and tilted it a little. “Uncle Cas, Bailey don’t look like you. What did the girl you… you know, that thing…” 

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Melanie exclaimed, seeing Castiel’s mortified face. Gabriel dropped his head onto his folded arms on the table, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Lottie, I think you’re a little confused about the situation. Cas didn’t… we don’t know who Bailey’s parents were. I think it’s probably best not to talk about them for a while, in fact. It might make Bailey sad.” 

“So is Bailey my cousin or not?” 

“I think that would be an appropriate designation,” Castiel said slowly. “For now, let’s let them get settled in and used to us all.” 

“Speaking of which,” said Melanie. “Thought they’d be out here by now. Cas, maybe you should go check.” Castiel set Charlotte down with a kiss to the top of her head and walked off down the corridor. 

“What do you think’s gotten into him?” Melanie mused, leaning against Gabriel, her chin on his shoulder. 

“I don’t know. Sees a little of himself in the kid, if I had to guess. Maybe a little of Dean too.” 

Melanie lowered her voice, glancing at Charlotte in the distance. “I talked to Sam. You need to talk to him too. He has some crazy ideas about… just, please go talk to him.” 

Gabriel shifted in his seat to face her. Her blue eyes were still full of sadness, if not the abject misery they’d been displaying earlier. “I’ll talk to him,” he said at last, standing up slowly and kissing her forehead. 


	13. Chapter 13

Gabriel wandered into the archive room off the library. Sam was sitting on the floor, his long legs bent under him. A small leather-bound book rested in his palms. Gabriel sat down at his side. “Saaaaaam,” he sighed fondly, slipping an arm around the man’s waist. “Sam, my gorgeous delicious Sam, what crazy ideas have gotten into your head that have gotten you and Melanie barely speaking to each other?” 

“Barely speaking,” Sam snorted. “Where do you get that from? We’ve just been a little distant, but we’ve talked about it. We’re fine now.” 

“You hurt her, bucko. Now, maybe you’ve made it right, but you did it. It happened.” 

Sam scowled. “Well I don’t need you bitching me out for it as well. And yeah, I have been up to my ears trying to figure out anything I can about the Neph- but look here, Gabe. This is what I keep finding. ‘The … intrinsic violence … begins in utero. In some cases, if sufficiently provoked, the Powers of the Creature can tear the host Asunder.’ Is it really worth risking her being ‘torn asunder’ if it’s-“ 

“Now hold the phones!” Gabriel exclaimed. “Woooweeeee, what you’ve been reading, Kiddo! Did it ever occur to you to ask me?” 

Sam looked down at his hands. “Um. Well I guess it occurred to me, but…” He shifted around and picked up a different book, flipping it open to a bookmarked page. “There’s more and I just wanted to get to the bottom of it before I asked you. But, fine. Look.” 

Gabriel’s eyes scanned the page rapidly. “Samshine, you idiot,” he sighed. “Did you really believe this crap?” 

“Are you telling me none of that ever happened?” Sam said heatedly. 

“No, no, it was nothing like that. This is like… this is like a bitchy Facebook post by a scorned angel. I remember them. The girl dumped him; he was being an ass to her. She got together with someone else and then, well, she died. Of a plague or something. Nothing as dramatic as all this. She wasn’t even pregnant. She certainly wasn’t ‘slaughtered from within by the outraged Nephilim, angered that she dared Deceive his Angelic Father with a human Man.’ Honestly Sam! You read this drivel and thought that it would kill her if you-“ 

“No! Shut up!” Sam growled, scrambling to his feet. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” 

“Well too bad for you, cause we’re talking,” Gabriel was up and backing him into the bookcase, his eyes fierce. Sam stared back, his eyes hard and proud. They stared at each other for a heated moment. “Sam,” Gabriel said at last, softening. “Why don’t you want to get past this? Come on, this is us. Everything we’ve been through, you and I. Let me help you.” 

“It hurts,” Sam admitted, his eyes tearing up. “Every time I think about it… growing inside of her. I guess sometimes I feel like- felt like she and I had something special between us. I’m sorry, I know it’s not fair. We have always counted you as Charlotte’s parent and I don’t mean to discount that, but I guess quietly inside I always felt like Mel and I did this one thing together. And you and I had so much history together… and now I feel very greedy and selfish.” Sam hung his head sadly. 

“Shhh,” said Gabriel, cupping Sam’s cheek. “Be greedy and selfish for a while if you’ve gotta. We’ll wait while you have your moment. Dad knows, you’ve got some catching up to do on that score.” 

“You don’t think I’m being an asshole?” 

“Of course not! We all know I’m the asshole in this relationship.” 

Sam snorted laughter and pulled the archangel close. “But I love you though.” He bent down and captured Gabriel’s lips, sucking his lower lip in and then biting down ever so gently on it. Gabriel moaned against his mouth, a delicious sound. Sam pressed his body against Gabriel’s insistently while deepening the kiss, his tongue teasing over Gabriel’s teeth. Gabriel had his hands twisted into Sam’s hair and Sam was undoing his top shirt button when they heard the voice of Charlotte on the other side of the shelves. 

“I bet they’re in here,” she was saying. “Daddy was reading books. He reads lots of books. Uncle Dean says he’s a book nerd.” 

Sam reversed his motions and rebuttoned Gabriel’s shirt with a shrug. “Double cockblocked,” he whispered, smoothing it down as Charlotte lead Bailey around the corner. 

“Hey guys,” Gabriel said brightly. “What are we up to?” 

“Archives aren’t really a play space, Lottie. We’ve had this conversation,” Sam said patiently. 

“I’m giving Bailey a tooour,” Charlotte whined. “That’s a ‘gitimate reason. You don’t want them to get lost, do you? People could get lost in this crazy place.” 

Sam chuckled. “That’s very thoughtful of you. The rule still stands. No playing in here. Respectful behavior only.” 

“Daaaaddy I am ALWAYS respectful.” 

“You threw a Lego fairy house at me last week and we had to rebuild the whole thing.” 

“It’s not my fault stupid Lego fairies don’t know how to fly!” Gabriel bit his tongue, his face twitching. Bailey made no such attempt at restraint and burst into giggles, and Gabriel soon followed. Charlotte scowled at him, then turned sad eyes at Bailey. 

“Sorry,” Bailey said. “But that was funny. We can make the Lego fairies fly if you want. I have an idea. You wanna try it?” 

“Okay!” Charlotte agreed, smiling again. They scampered out of the room. 

“Bedroom,” Sam said to Gabriel as soon as they were out of sight, grabbing his shirt collar. Gabriel waggled his eyebrows and snapped his fingers. 


	14. Chapter 14

Castiel sat at the chess table, a book about chess strategy in hand. He moved the pieces around the board as he read. He was thinking less about chess and more about the conversation that he’d just had with Bailey, before they had gone off to play with Charlotte. The poor child was grieving and frightened, and Castiel wasn’t certain that he knew what to do in this situation, nor why it suddenly mattered so much to him. Deep in thought, he did not notice her approach until Melanie dropped into the chair opposite him. 

“Bailey seems to be adjusting well,” she commented. “I think you did well to bring them here.” Castiel stared at the woman, a little anxious that his thoughts were so easily readable, by a human no less. 

“I’m glad you think so. We just had a long discussion and I … I’m not sure I know what I’m doing. They have so much sadness, and they are going to need… clothes and things, and I suppose we’ll have to figure out something about school eventually,” Castiel said, his face scrunching up with worry. “I may need to draw upon your parental experience in the near future, if you would be so kind. But, how are you, Melanie? You look different.” 

“I do?” she said in alarm, her hand going to her stomach. Surely it was no larger yet. Her pants still fastened and everything. 

“Yes, somewhat. Though I suppose it’s more the issue of the wards obscuring the child from me. I had grown used to seeing that little spark hovering around.” 

“Wards?” Melanie repeated. 

“The ones that Gabriel put over the child. It’s not just against demons. I can no longer detect it either.” 

Melanie’s eyes widened. “Cas! You’re saying you can’t sense… my baby anymore? But Gabriel didn’t do-“ 

He frowned. “He told me that he warded it against detection, in case I was curious as to why I could no longer-“ 

“Well he certainly didn’t tell me!” she exclaimed, panic quickly shifting to anger. “Why would he even do that? It’s not like I’m hanging out with demons that are going to… wait a minute. Cas, if he hadn’t done that, would you be able to get a better read on what it is?” 

“I believe soon, yes. The child will be forming crucial neurological structures soon that would naturally be different. And upon quickening, the child would either have a soul or some sort of soul-grace hybrid. I’m not entirely sure what it would feel like, but I do believe I would be able to sense the difference. 

“Gabriel told me that he might not even be able to tell at all.” 

“That’s ludicrous! Gabriel would certainly know. Unless of course… he knows already.” Castiel took a deep breath. “I tried to engage him in a conversation about a strategic plan, and he refused to discuss it with me.” 

“Plan to do what?” 

“Well that’s one of the questions that we should answer. If we are going to hide the child from the Host, we should at least talk about how best to accomplish that, and Gabriel should weigh in – he being the expert on that! If we… well, if we were actually to hear from Father…” Castiel shrugged. “It’s so unlikely as to even consider.” 

Melanie sighed. “Thank you, Cas,” she said softly. “Thank you for telling me.” She reached over and patted his hand fondly. 

“Of course. I only wish that there was more that I could do. But I cannot get through Gabriel’s wards.” 

“Dinner!” Dean’s voice echoed throughout the bunker. He stepped into the map room, a green apron over his jeans and t-shirt. His hair was a mess and there was cheese sauce smeared on his arms. Castiel gave a fond little sigh at the sight of his adorable boyfriend. Dean caught his eye and winked at him. 

They shuffled out to the kitchen, and the others appeared from around the bunker. Dean grinned proudly as everyone tucked into the meal. In addition to the bacon mac & cheese, he had also made mixed vegetables in a garlic sauce and a fresh loaf of Italian bread. 

“Hey Bailey, how’s the grub? ‘Zat work for you?” Dean asked around a mouthful of bread. 

“It’s good,” came the reply from the other end of the table, a hand extending in thumbs-up. “Lots of bacon. Good stuff.” 

“Awesome,” Dean said, with a self-satisfied grin. 

They had finished eating and were working together at putting things away and washing dishes when Melanie’s phone rang in her pocket. Frowning, she pulled it out and looked at the screen. “Oh crap, it’s my tenant,” she said. She hit the button. 

“Hello? Oh hey there! Everything okay? … Well sure, that doesn’t sound like such a … wait, over the top? You cleaned it last fall, right? …. Last spring? … Ever? Really? Ooookay then. Do you think you could … no, no, don’t get on a ladder if you’re phobic. I’ll, um. We’ll come out and look at it. You’re not supposed to get any more rain soon, are you? … Okay, good. … No not me, I have a really tall boyfriend. … No, the other one’s not, but … Yeah, I guess we’ll see you in a few days. Bye.” She glanced up at Sam as she hung the phone up. “We need to go to Pennsylvania and clean gutters,” she said ruefully. 

“Are we gonna see Grandma and Grandpa?” Charlotte asked eagerly. 

“Oh, honey, I thought maybe you and Gabe would stay-“ 

“NOOOOOOO I WANNA GO!” Charlotte shrieked, launching herself at Melanie’s legs, throwing Melanie so off balance that she would have fallen if Gabriel hadn’t caught her with his grace. He was across the room but she could feel the gentle caress of feathers on the small of her back. “I WANNA GO SEE GRANDMA AND GRANDPA.” Melanie sighed, rubbing her temples. “I guess we could all go. Gabriel?” 

“Family road trip!” he agreed. “Let’s do it. You know how much I love hanging out with your family.” 

“You and me both,” she muttered under her breath. “Right. We’ll hit the road first thing in the morning, I guess.” She had been hoping for a road trip with just Sam, both to have some time to connect with him and talk more, and to avoid talking to Gabriel about what Castiel had said. As much as she wanted to confront him about it, she was also afraid to. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. 

The rest of the evening they spent playing board games. Dean and Bailey were facing off against Sam and Charlotte in Pictionary when Gabriel wandered out to the kitchen to make kettle corn. Melanie stood to follow him, but instead of going to the kitchen her feet took her to the laundry room. Well, she did have to finish laundry and pack clothes, after all. The conversation could wait. 

She carried the packed bags out and placed them at the bottom of the stairs, a pointed look at the guys. “On it,” Dean declared, ruffling her hair annoyingly as he walked past her. Sam and Bailey were putting the various games back in their boxes. Gabriel was running his finger around the bottom of the empty kettle corn bowl and licking the sugary-salty residue. Fascinated, Charlotte copied his actions. 

“Isn’t it bedtime?” Melanie observed. Charlotte scowled. 

“FINE but I want THREE stories,” she huffed. 

“I got it,” Gabriel said, meeting Melanie’s eyes, then shifting a glance over to Sam. He looked back at Melanie and smirked. She grinned back at him and winked. And just like that, it was understood that Gabriel would put the kid to bed and give Melanie and Sam some space. Sam, bent over the untidy pile on the table, hadn’t even noticed. 

“Do you require bedtime stories, Bailey?” Castiel asked. “And uh… brushing the teeth and…” he faltered, not entirely certain what else the child bedtime ritual entailed. 

“I just read for myself,” Bailey answered. “And I brush my own teeth.” 

“So you don’t require bedtime ceremony anymore at your age?” 

“Well, no but… I guess you could tuck me in. But I don’t _need_ it, okay? Just give me like ten minutes first.” 

“Say goodnight, Lottie,” Gabriel prompted, gesturing towards the hallway. 

“Good NIGHT!” Charlotte exclaimed dramatically, squeezing Bailey in a hug. “Thank you for coming here to play with me.” She then flitted around the room, hugging and kissing everyone else before disappearing down the hallway with Gabriel. 

“Um, good night everybody,” Bailey said shyly, slinking away down the hallway behind them. A chorus of “good night” followed them out of the room. 

“How do I tuck a child in?” Castiel asked as soon as they were out of the room. 

Sam smiled. “It’s no big deal Cas. You just kinda fix their blankets up a little bit, if they want, and then you say goodnight to them. Ask if they need anything else. Lottie usually does. And, um, I kiss her on the forehead too. But I dunno if… if they want, I guess.” 

Castiel nodded thoughtfully. “I think I understand. Thank you, Sam.” 

Dean returned from having loaded the van and Sam held out a beer to him. Dean nodded and dropped into the chair next to Castiel. 

“So I guess congratulations are in order,” Sam said with an amused grin. 

Dean eyed him suspiciously. “What?” 

“You guys are dads now. Congrats.” 

“Sammy, don’t get ahead of ourselves here…” Dean began, sitting up abruptly. “I mean maybe… maybe the kid will decide that hanging out with us nutjobs ain’t all it’s cracked up to be and run off in search of something better. Or maybe we can find them a better situation.” 

Castiel looked stricken. “I have to go tuck Bailey in. It’s been ten minutes,” he said, rising from his chair and heading down the hallway at a quick pace without even glancing at Dean. 

Sam looked at Dean disdainfully. Dean took another swig of his beer. 

“Enjoy your doghouse, jerk,” Sam said at last, standing up and stretching. “Coming, Mel?” 

“Sure,” she said carefully. “Hey Dean, do you need to-“ 

“Just leave it,” he snapped. 

“Fine,” she replied, slipping her hand into Sam’s. “Let’s go, sweetie.” 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut, just smut. Like, you could skip this and not lose any significant plot information.

They walked into the bedroom still holding hands. Sam turned to shut and lock the door, on the off chance that Gabriel got distracted and Charlotte went wandering. Melanie sat on the bed, studying the lines of his body as he moved. Sam took the last few steps towards her and knelt on the floor at her feet. He untied her shoes, slipped them off, then her socks. He then ran his fingertips gently up the insides of her calves, sliding them under the cuffs of her jeans as far as he could. 

“Should I start with a foot rub?” he asked, caressing the top of one foot. 

“Mmm. Tempting, but I think I’d rather you kiss me.” 

Sam rose up on his knees and leaned forward, capturing her lips. He brought one hand to her cheek and stroked it softly with his thumb. His other hand traced fingertips across her cheek, jawline, ear, throat, through the tangles of light brown curls that hung just past her shoulder. His hands were huge, warm, and everywhere at once. 

Melanie ran her palms over his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through the thin t-shirt. Her hands moved up into his hair, tugging ever so slightly. Sam moaned in response to this and his kisses became hungrier. His tongue brushed against hers and she tightened her grip. They tumbled onto the bed together, Sam’s body covering hers, pressing against her, but then he stopped suddenly and held himself up off of her on his arms. 

“Sorry! Sorry, I shouldn’t – did I hurt you?” he winced. 

“What? No, I’m fine!” she exclaimed, her blue eyes wide. But he shifted onto his side and rolled her over to fit against him, his hand on her lower back, holding her close. He leaned on his other elbow and gazed at her adoringly. “Soon – in another month or two, maybe – you won’t be able to do that,” she added gently. “But you don’t need to be so cautious now.” She slid her hand under his shirt and scraped her fingernails lightly up his back, a move that made him close his eyes and shudder. 

“Mel,” he choked out hoarsely. His hand tightened in her shirt, pulling at it. “Too many clothes,” he proclaimed. He sat up and gently tugged her upright, and they undressed each other, slowly, with time to lavish attention on every new bit of bared skin. This was no frantic, everyday tumble, but a renewal of their love. Each kiss and caress was sacred and savored. 

As Sam kissed his way around her navel, he murmured, “you look so different already.” He cupped his palm around the curve of her belly, always a soft, jiggly curve, but now just slightly more pronounced, though only the ones who knew her body intimately would have noticed. 

“You’re beautiful,” he added in hindsight, in case that was the wrong thing to say. But Melanie was watching the way his eyes shone when he looked at her body. “I love you.” 

“I love you, Sam,” she replied, her eyes brimming with tears. “My sweet Sam.” 

Sam sat back on his heels, and pulled her to straddle his lap. He traced his fingers slowly up and down her thighs, working from her hips towards her inner thigh. Melanie leaned in and kissed the side of his mouth, down along his jaw to his throat, then licked and sucked a favorite spot as his collarbone. His erection bobbed against her stomach in response to this. She slung her arms over his shoulders and pressed herself close against him. She leaned her hips upward, just able to catch the tip of his cock in her folds. Sam let out a shivery gasp as he felt her slick heat. “I need more,” he growled. 

“Me too,” she said. She slid up higher, bracing her arms on his shoulders. Sam gripped her hips and helped slide her up and then onto his cock. Both moaned as he slid home into her tight wetness, so hot around him. She stilled for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of Sam filling her up. “Oh, _Sam_ ,” she gasped. “I missed this,” 

He kissed her, his lips hungry and possessive, his tongue demanding entry, exploring every inch of her mouth. She whimpered and moved against him, desperate for the friction of his cock inside of her. Sam’s strong hands on her hips helped slide her up and down, putting her right where he wanted her as he thrust against her with tiny movements, impeded by the position. 

His lips moved to her ear. “Are you sure it would … uhhh … would be okay … because I really … ohhh … really wanna …” he gasped out. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” she reassured him. She backed up, a little sense of loss as she was empty once more, and laid back on the bed. “Come and fuck me, Sam,” she demanded. 

“Oh, you mouthy thing,” he replied, a glint in his eye as he crawled over her. “You are so going to get it.” 

“Counting on it,” she answered, grabbing handsful of his ass and pulling him towards her. Sam slid in with a triumphant grunt and hooked an arm under her knee, pulling it upward as he pumped into her. “Ohhh yes,” she breathed. “That’s it.” 

“You’ll tell me if it’s-“ 

“Yes! Stop worrying!” she sighed. She stroked her palms across his chest, flicking at his nipples with her thumbs. “Oh God, Sam, you’re amazingly sexy. So, so, good,” she panted. His hair was swinging with each thrust and brushing her cheeks where it hung down, and she slid her hands into it, tangling and pulling and brushing it out of their faces. “Sam. _Sam_ ,” she moaned. “So close. So… so…” Melanie hooked her leg around his waist and met each thrust with her own, demanding stimulation to her clit and taking what she needed. And just like that, she was climaxing in wave after wave, squeezing his cock with each spasm. Sam came with a wordless cry and collapsed onto her in a sweaty, spent heap. 

They laid there, trembling, sweat cooling on their bodies. “That was…” Sam began at last. “Intense,” he finished. 

“Yeah,” she agreed. Her arms tightened around his waist as a flood of emotions washed over her. “I love you Sam. I love you so much. Please don’t ever leave me like that again. I was so scared.” 

“Shhh, it’s okay,” he whispered, shifting over onto his back and pulling her against his chest. She nestled her cheek against him, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. “I’ll never be so stupid again. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head softly. 

They had fallen asleep like that when Gabriel silently appeared in the room. He tucked the covers around them and curled up on the other side of the bed with a satisfied smile. 


	16. Chapter 16

First to enter the kitchen the next morning, Gabriel cooked French toast and sausage. He was just finishing the first stacks when Charlotte and Bailey appeared in the kitchen, summoned by the smell of food. He fixed them plates, and poured glasses of milk, beaming at the pair. 

Melanie appeared next and came up beside him. She thought about asking him about what Castiel had said, but glanced at the children nearby. It could wait, she thought, spearing a piece of French toast and dragging it onto her plate. “Got your appetite back?” he said to her in a low, innuendo-laden voice. 

“Mmm,” she agreed, kissing him. He tasted like powdered sugar and strawberry topping and she let the kiss linger, though it felt a little hollow. 

Melanie was putting her empty plate in the sink, as well as Charlotte’s, when Sam finally stumbled in. She poured him a cup of coffee and pressed it into his hand, and he smiled gratefully as he sat down in the seat next to Charlotte. He ruffled her hair a bit, and nodded to Bailey, sitting across from them. 

“Food?” Gabriel asked, brandishing a spatula. 

“No, not… is there fruit?” 

“Bananas, oranges, cherries, strawberries, that’s what we have fresh,” Melanie rattled off, grabbing the fruit bowl from the counter and placing it on the table in front of him. “I mean, there’s not really a lot in season yet.” 

“Anything you can imagine,” Gabriel added helpfully. “Figs? Papaya? Breadfruit? The most exactly ripe pineapple?” He came to stand behind Sam and leaned his chin on the top of Sam’s head, his hands squeezing Sam’s shoulders. “What does my Samshine desire?” 

Sam chuckled. “Well I was going to go with an orange until you brought up the pineapple. I don’t think I’ve had good pineapple in…” he trailed off as Gabriel handed him a bowl of pineapple chunks. He didn’t often take advantage of the archangel’s magic for frivolous reasons, but he couldn’t deny that it was a nice perk. Sam popped a piece in his mouth, then looked up to notice that Bailey was staring at them. 

“Um,” he said around his mouthful of food. “Did Cas and Dean explain…?” 

“The angel thing? Is that part of the angel thing? I know Cas is an angel, but he didn’t tell me he could just make stuff like poof. Or are you something else?” Bailey eyed Gabriel suspiciously. 

Sam coughed. “Oh, he’s something else, alright,” he said with a fond grin. 

Gabriel dropped into the chair next to Bailey. “I’m an archangel. Cas is my little bro; he’s not quiiiiite as good at that sort of thing as I am.” 

“So, you have more powers? Can you do things Cas can’t do?” 

“Yuppers. Though I try not to rub it in. He’s so sensitive.” 

“Can you bring my parents back?” Bailey looked up at him, their eyes so pleading and hopeful. 

“Oh Cupcake, I’m sorry,” his face fell. “I wish I could but… that kind of thing takes the cooperation of all Creation. Otherwise the Reapers and the Fates come after me, and it doesn’t work out well for anyone.” 

Bailey sighed dejectedly and looked back at their plate. “Thanks anyway,” they sniffled. 

“Hey Bailey let’s go play with Pumpkin before I hafta go,” Charlotte said, wiggling out of her seat. 

“Okay,” Bailey agreed, following Charlotte out of the room. 

Melanie started cleaning up the breakfast mess. She eyed the piles of leftovers and wondered if Dean and 

Castiel were coming for breakfast at all. Just as she was drying the last dish, Castiel came in. He scowled at the coffee pot as he poured a cup and sat down next to Sam wordlessly. 

“Is Dean getting up soon? Or should I put this stuff away?” Melanie asked. 

“How should I know?” Castiel snapped. “Is he even home?” 

Gabriel looked thoughtful for a moment. “He’s in his car,” he said at last. “In the garage. Asleep. Sleeping it off, I should say.” 

“Didn’t you guys even talk about it?” Melanie asked. 

“You could call it that,” Castiel said morosely. “Let’s just say that no conclusions were reached.” 

“Hey, I’m sorry, man,” Sam said, patting Castiel’s shoulder. “We need to leave soon but… look, if you need a friendly ear you can always call. God knows I’m the founding member of the ‘Dean is being an unreasonable dick’ club,” he added wryly. 

Castiel snorted. “Yeah, I suppose. Thank you, Sam.” 

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Melanie asked. “If we need to wait a day or two…” 

“Bailey and I will keep each other company. I believe they expressed interest in investigating the park and the duck pond that Charlotte has been going on about. We are also charged with keeping Pumpkin happy. Bailey has some ideas about constructing cat toys.” 

They soon found the kids and said their goodbyes. Charlotte clung to Bailey as they said goodbye at the doorway. “Promise you’ll be here when I get back. I want to play some more.” 

“Um?” Bailey said uncertainly, looking at Castiel. 

“Of course we’ll be here,” Castiel said, placing a hand on Bailey’s shoulder. “Unless we happen to be out on some sort of temporary errand.” 

“Have fun, okay?” Bailey said. 

“You toooooo!” Charlotte said, detaching at last and getting into her seat. She waved out the window as they drove off East. 


	17. Chapter 17

They pulled into the parking lot of a nondescript motel and Sam went to check them in. When they opened the door, the room was a spacious suite, with two bedrooms and a large kitchenette off the luxurious living room. Gabriel smirked. 

“Of course,” Sam said, rolling his eyes. “It’s been so long since we’ve done this, I forgot.” 

“Whoa,” said Charlotte. She ran to claim one of the bedrooms, flopping onto the thick comforter eagerly. 

Melanie came in last, her face drawn and weary. It had been a long day of driving. She had her backpack slung over her shoulder and her briefcase in her hands. Gabriel moved to take the heavy briefcase from her, but she twisted away. “I can do it,” she snapped. 

“Ohhhkay,” he replied, holding his hands up and backing away. He shot a glance to Sam, who shrugged. 

Melanie put the briefcase on the desk and pulled out her laptop and a thick file of papers. She quietly sat down and started working. 

“Hey Pipsqueak, how about a bath before bed?” Gabriel called, trailing Charlotte into her room. 

“I require five inches of bubbles and fifteen ducks. They all have to have hats. Different hats,” she said, eyeing him guardedly. 

“Oh that’s easy,” Gabriel scoffed, walking into the private bathroom off the bedroom. “Get out your jammies and toothbrush while I work my magic.” 

Sam glanced at Melanie, who was frowning at the notebook in front of her. “Taxes?” Sam guessed. 

“Hah. No. I’m looking at all the things that I had wanted to look up there whenever I got back and had a few days to hit the archives. There’s the coal miner stories project that I had started, and the series of Victorian diaries that I don’t think they’re ever going to get around to digitizing. Can’t help but feel that it’s because I’m not there to do it,” she added sadly. “But, if we get an extra day or two I want to at least get in and get a few pictures. Is that okay?” 

“Whatever you want, love. Will it help you write your book?” He pulled a chair up next to her and started rubbing her shoulders. 

“Yeah. I’m kind of hoping this is the last piece, actually.” 

“Oh, you should definitely do it. After we get the gutters dealt with. Gabe and I can take Lottie to the children’s museum. You know how much Gabe loves the room with the giant foam building blocks.” 

“Yes. Well that sounds like it would be nice,” she said absently, making some notations on the page. 

Sam teased his fingers through her hair. “I love you, Mel. I want you to be able to keep working on your projects. I hope you don’t regret… I mean, I changed your life so much. Derailed it thoroughly with one broken condom,” he said wryly. “I can’t ever regret that exactly, but…” 

“Hey. Me neither. None of it, Sam.” She reached over to squeeze his hand. “You know… we’ve never really talked about this before but… you don’t think it was your fault, do you?” 

Sam blinked. “Well, yeah. I mean… I was the one who put it on; I must’ve done something wrong.” 

“It just happens. Oh, sweetie… there’s a reason they call it an accident. We’ve gotta share the blame here, my love. Fifty fifty. And of course, we did make a very awesome kid, even if we did not intend to.” She lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed the back of it, then turned it over and kissed the inside of his wrist. Sam closed his eyes as her lips trailed lazily up the inside of his arm. 

Charlotte bounded out of the bedroom, pajama clad, her hair wrapped up in a small towel. “I’m ready for bed!” she announced. Gabriel leaned in the doorway behind her. 

“Why don’t I do the story?” Sam volunteered. He stroked his palm across Melanie’s cheek as he pulled his hand free. Their eyes met with an eloquent promise. 

Gabriel strolled over and dropped into the seat that Sam had just vacated. “Whatcha scribbling there, Sweetness?” 

“You lied to me,” she answered coolly, not looking up from the page. 

“Uhh… what?!” he exclaimed. “Let me see-“ he reached to pick up the notebook, but she thwapped his hand with her pen. 

“No, it has nothing to do with my notebook, jackass! God! You’re ridiculous, you know that?” She turned to face him, her eyes fiery. “You know, I was just going to suck it up and hide it inside. I mean, that’s what we do around here, right? But I guess I decided screw that shit. I’m sick of the lies and the hiding. So, here’s the thing. I talked to Cas yesterday. You did something to me and you didn’t tell me. You probably lied to him. And no one knows where you go all the time, Gabriel. You’re lying, and you’re hiding stuff, and I’m pissed at you. I know you probably won’t spill, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it.” 

Gabriel stared at her, open mouthed. Finally, he scrubbed a hand across his face. “Oh, Mel. I… I didn’t… Okay, yes, I put wards around your womb. Can you blame me? The way things tend to go for us?” 

“And you couldn’t tell me about it why?” 

“Didn’t want to make you worry,” he replied smoothly. “Of course.” 

She snorted. “Yeah, that’s not okay though. I’m not that fragile.” 

“Actually, from my perspective, you kind of are. All of you. So terrifyingly fragile. I’m sorry, Mel. It’s hard for me. Please understand.” He reached for her hands, but she crossed her arms instead, bracing them against the ache in her chest. 

“So where do you go?” she asked, her face stony. “You’re almost always gone and sometimes you’re dressed up. That’s not routine Trickster lesson-teaching crap.” 

“Hey! My job is not crap!” he exclaimed, affronted. “God Himself created me to be the Archangel of-“ 

“Oh, can it with the holier-than-thou act,” she muttered. “I didn’t literally mean that it was crap.” 

“I _am_ Holy; that’s the freaking point,” he seethed. 

“Oh, shove it up your halo. You’re just trying to avoid answering me. So, where have you been going?” 

“I’ve been doing research,” he answered slowly. “Lots of places. You know, the Vatican archives. Heaven. Little things like that.” 

She sat up straighter in shock. “Gabriel! Heaven? Really? But you don’t-“ 

“No, I don’t… but I needed information.” 

“What did you find out?” 

He snorted. “Precious little. That there are a significant number who want me dead. Knew that. There are still remnants of Naomi’s faction, who want me back. Didn’t know that. Kind of creeped out. Sooo I kept a lower profile and went back again. Combed through the dullest files you ever saw in your life… well okay, you see a lot of really dull files, don’t you? Anyway, nope, no further proclamations, no amendments, no orders, only a few Nephilim spotted over the last few millennia. But no one did much about them. Not even Michael or Raphael bothered to give a crap. In fact, some say there’s one out there somewhere right now, and no one has done squat. That’s a little cheering. But maybe that’s just because it’s still expected that I would do so. On the other hand, checked some details about Sam’s Fate, but… as I expected… he wasn’t supposed to be… I mean, we’ve so completely changed the plans there that there’s nothing to go on. And those Fates do NOT like to talk about Winchesters. So then… then I headed to the Vatican’s archives to look up stuff… which, I didn’t learn anything new, big surprise. But there, I also was looking for Signs. Of Dad.” 

Melanie’s heart lurched. Gabriel had always spoken so dismissively of any suggestion that God could be found. He’d made fun of Castiel looking for Him before. “You must be quite desperate,” she said quietly, watching his face. 

“Yeah,” he said in a sigh. “Yeah, you could say that. I _have_ to know what He expects of me. What my orders are. Because, Mel, if my orders still stand…” His eyes were wild, haunted. She knew that he would follow whatever orders God gave, no matter how awful they were, no matter how desperately he wanted to avoid it. She looked away from him. If it came to pass, she knew that she would have very few options. The best she could hope for would be for Sam, with his hunter’s skills, aided by Castiel, the rebel angel, to hide her and the child away. And she knew that even that could not last forever. 

“You know I could never forgive you,” she said coolly. “I will always love you, but, I think you’re wrong and you should listen to Castiel.” 

“I would never blame you, for whatever you feel you must do,” he answered sadly. “This is one time I’ll refrain from judging. Be sure you really want to bear the cost, though.” 

“I could say the same to you. Look, this is going nowhere, and I’m tired and… just done for tonight.” She stood up and walked into the bedroom, too sad to do anything other than crawl under the covers, still in the leggings and t-shirt she’d been wearing all day, and fall asleep. She was already asleep when Sam finished with Charlotte and crawled into bed next to her, and some time later, Gabriel crawled in next to Sam. Sam rolled over to wrap his arms around the trembling archangel and kiss him softly. He wasn’t sure what had transpired between Gabriel and Melanie, but he could tell that his lover was upset and in need of comfort. 

“Don’t you want to know…” Gabriel began in a broken voice. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sam asked gently. 

“No.” 

“Then no.” Sam tightened his embrace as Gabriel’s tears soaked into his t-shirt. 

The next morning dawned. They quickly had breakfast, quiet except for Charlotte’s oblivious chatter, and got ready for another long day of driving. Charlotte was excited to arrive at her grandparents’ house, where she was sure to find all manner of new clothes and toys waiting for her. Gabriel sat quietly behind Sam. Melanie tried to keep everyone singing along to the radio, but Gabriel just stared out the window unnervingly. 

They settled in to the Weiss family guest rooms. Charlotte got the room that had been Melanie’s brother’s room growing up. It now functioned as a study, with the desktop computer and bookshelves and a tarnished brass daybed with a thick flowered comforter. Melanie, Sam, and Gabriel were put in Melanie’s old room. “It’s my sewing room now,” Melanie’s mother was saying as she gestured up the stairs. “So watch out for pins.” She was busy showing Charlotte every clothing item as she pulled them from an enormous shopping bag from a children’s boutique store in the mall. Melanie shouldered her backpack, scowling, and trudged to her room. 

Her old twin-sized bed was shoved up against the wall and the center of the room was taken up with a crafting table. The sewing machine was on another table against the wall where Melanie’s dressing table had been in years past. Her dresser was still there, full of fabric and notions. A large air mattress was inflated on the floor next to the dresser. Every surface was covered with half-finished quilts. Melanie scooped up an armful of quilt tops from her bed, dumped them unceremoniously on the table, and collapsed onto the bed. Her legs were weak and twitchy from two days of driving and her neck and shoulders were stiff and painful, but the last thing she wanted to do was ask Gabriel to fix it. She curled up in the middle of the bed and feigned sleep, though her mind was racing too much to sleep easily. She heard Sam and Gabriel rustling around, clearing off the air mattress, talking in hushed tones. She felt the gentle press of lips against her hair, a blanket thrown over her, and the brush of feathers against her cheek. It was only after Sam’s steady breathing deepened into sleep that she was able to drift off as well. 


	18. Chapter 18

Dean woke up about mid-afternoon, hours after Sam and the others had left. He unfolded himself from the backseat of his car, stretched, and wandered up to the kitchen. The bunker seemed empty. He dug through the fridge and selected a random container of leftovers that turned out to be a spicy beef stir-fry, and a beer. He sat down at the table to dig into his breakfast alone. The fight with Cas was weighing heavily on his mind. He knew that he’d said some pretty shitty things. But the worst was trying to go back on his initial agreement, that Bailey could stay with them indefinitely, that it was up to Bailey to decide. He still didn’t think it was a good idea, but he knew that he would never convince the angel otherwise. The fact that he’d called Castiel selfish and stupid about it was just icing on the dick move cake. 

He had finished the food and two beers when the bunker door opened and closed. Two pairs of feet clattered down the stairs. Dean went out to the map room to meet them on the way in. 

“Hey,” he said. His heart hammered in his chest as he looked warily at Castiel. He wasn’t sure whether he could expect forgiveness yet. “You guys have fun?” he asked. 

“We did,” Castiel confirmed. “We walked to the duck pond.” Their eyes connected. It was a start. 

“I wish you had come,” Bailey added. 

“Yeah um… look, Bailey, can we have a serious chat?” Dean began, leaning against the table. 

“Dean…” Castiel began warningly. 

“No, we need to talk. Kid, you need to really think about this. You ain’t in very deep and you can get out of it. Go somewhere else and have a normal life. We can find you someone who’ll take good care of you. This life ain’t safe, and I don’t think it’s fair to drag you into it. I like you too much to put you through that if it’s not necessary.” 

Bailey looked from Dean to Castiel. “But I want to stay with you guys,” they finally said in a small voice. “I thought I was staying.” Castiel put his arm around their shoulder and squeezed tightly, glaring at Dean. 

“I just don’t think you’re thinking about this…” Dean said in frustration, rubbing his hand over his face. 

“Dean, you cannot ask someone for their opinion and then, when they offer it, tell them that they are wrong,” Castiel snapped. 

“But what about Lottie?” Bailey asked. “Isn’t she safe?” 

“Not really, no,” Dean answered. “Some bad stuff has happened to her before. I don’t like it but there’s no way out for her. If we tried to hide her away somewhere, guarantee something’ll find her again. Safer here than not. But you, Bailey, you’re just a normal kid-“ 

“I am NOT normal,” Bailey retorted bitterly. “That’s why no one wants me.” 

“Bailey…” Castiel said helplessly. 

“You’re an awesome kid,” Dean corrected. “Whatever. Don’t you dare argue with that. Anyone who doesn’t think so, screw ‘em.” 

“You don’t want me to go away because you don’t like me?” Bailey asked, peering at Dean. 

“What? No, no! I want you to have a good life.” 

Bailey shrugged. “Well I’m on my own in the world and I think… staying with you guys… could be a really good life for me. I mean, I get that the shit you guys get into is dangerous. Duh, my parents are _dead_ because of that. So don’t think I’m stupid or not thinking about it. I did think, a lot. I really like you guys, all of you, and I want to stay, and maybe I’ll help with this stuff someday-“ 

“Oh, _hell_ no!” Dean interrupted. “See, this is exactly why-“ 

“But it’ll be _my choice_ and I’ll decide whether you’re around to bitch at me about it or not.” 

“You need to at least go to school,” Dean said with a sigh. 

“In the fall,” Castiel added. “The school year is almost over. It will be easier in the fall.” 

“Okay,” Dean said. “In the meantime, you can learn some stuff to help keep you safe – NOT to hunt, get it?” 

“Yay!” Bailey shrieked, launching forward to hang their arms around Dean’s neck and kiss him on the cheek. “Yuck, you smell like a brewery,” they said. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean grumbled, but his arms tightened around the kid. He looked at Castiel over their shoulder. Love, warmth, forgiveness. Maybe it would be okay. 

“How about a pizza and Netflix night?” Castiel suggested. 

Dean eyed Bailey warily. “What do you watch, like Disney movies or something?” 

“Ugh. No!” Bailey exclaimed, making a face. “Shark movies! Documentaries, or, like, shark attack crazy stuff. They kind of get it wrong but they’re funny. But you learn more in the documentaries.” 

“So we get to be shark experts too?” Dean asked. 

“You can thank me later,” Bailey said, scampering out to the kitchen for a soda. 

“I’m so sorry, Cas,” Dean said as soon as they were out of earshot. “I said some shitty things. You didn’t deserve that.” 

“I forgive you, Dean,” Castiel said, surging forward into his arms. “I’m still somewhat angry, but I’m trying to understand.” He cupped Dean’s cheeks in his hands and kissed him roughly. They clung together for a moment before pulling apart. 

“I should order pizza,” Dean said. “Do you know what the kid eats on pizza?” 

“No. But I’ll have to drive to get it anyway,” Castiel said. “Maybe we should just go out.” 

“Hey Bailey,” Dean called loudly. Bailey appeared in the hallway. “Maybe we should go see a movie out and go to the pizza joint, whaddaya say?” 

“Works for me!” Bailey said eagerly. 

Eventually, they agreed upon a comedy, as there were no shark movies in the theater. Dean sat between Castiel and Bailey and laughed uproariously around mouthfuls of popcorn. They went for pizza and Bailey requested broccoli and ham. 

“That can be your half,” Dean agreed reluctantly. “I’ll try to overlook the wrongness of putting vegetables on a pizza. Do it meat lovers on my half.” 

When they finally arrived back at the bunker that night, Castiel carried the sound-asleep child in to bed easily, Dean opening the doors. Once Bailey was tucked in and settled, Castiel turned to Dean. 

“I believe it is time for the ‘make-up sex’,” Castiel said with an exaggerate wink. 

“That… should not turn me on as much as it does,” Dean said, letting Castiel lead him to the bedroom. 


	19. Chapter 19

Sam woke up alone on the air mattress, to the sound of a frustrated squawk and the thunk of balled-up heavy fabric hitting the wall. He opened his eyes. Melanie stood in the middle of the room, seething, in a shirt and panties. There was a pair of jeans lying on the floor nearby. 

“I can’t put my pants on,” she grumbled by way of explanation. “I mean, I can, but it doesn’t feel good.” 

“’S okay, I like you without pants,” Sam said. Apparently that was the wrong thing. She threw a pillow at him. 

“Ass,” she said bitterly. “Thanks for the sympathy.” 

“Sorry,” he moaned, his arms covering his face. “I’m sorry. Obviously, I cannot imagine what it’s like. What can I do?” 

“Nothing. I’ll put on yoga pants and suck it up and deal.” 

Downstairs, they found Gabriel and Charlotte sitting at the kitchen table eating chocolate chip pancakes. Melanie’s mother was at the stove flipping more pancakes, and frying scrapple. Melanie grinned. “Oh, I haven’t had scrapple in so long!” She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Sam. 

“I figured,” said her mother. 

“What _is_ it?” Sam asked, eyeing the frying pan suspiciously. 

Melanie paused thoughtfully. “Meat. Mostly,” she said after a moment. 

Sam gave her a wide-eyed look, to which she shrugged. He grabbed an orange out of the fruit bowl. Melanie grabbed a plate, piled it high with pancakes and scrapple, drowned everything in syrup, and sat next to Charlotte. She watched Gabriel’s hands as he carefully cut up his pancakes. The table between them felt a million miles wide. 

“Giving up on your organic hippie granola phase?” Mrs. Weiss asked, glancing at Melanie, a slight smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. 

“No,” she answered sulkily. “I’m just hungry. I indulge once in a while. Might as well do it while someone else is cooking.” 

“Must be so much more work, two men to cook and clean for,” said Mrs. Weiss, a tight smile at her sons-in-law. 

“Mom, it’s not like-“ Melanie sighed. 

“My brother does most of that,” Sam said. “He’s a pretty good cook and kind of a neat freak, so it works.” 

“Oh that’s right, you all share a house. I had forgotten.” 

Charlotte, bored with the conversation, picked up her chocolate milk and started blowing bubbles through the straw. 

“Lottie, don’t…” Melanie sighed. 

“Oh, she’s not hurting anything,” Mrs. Weiss answered. “Let her have fun.” 

“You know what Sam, we better get these gutters done before it rains. Mom, I’m taking some rakes and stuff out of the garage.” Melanie stood up and walked towards the back door, then stopped and turned. “Um, Gabe, are you…?” 

He glanced around. After a moment he answered. “Yeah, I guess I’ll come with you guys. If you want. Maybe I can hold a ladder or something useful like that.” 

“Have fun with Grandma, Lottie,” Sam said. “We’ll be back soon, okay?” 

“Tomorrow is museum?” she asked. 

“Yes, tomorrow we’ll go.” 

“Yay!” She gave hugs and kisses to her parents, and went back to blowing bubbles in her chocolate milk while giggling. 

Gabriel leaned against the van while Sam put the tools in it. Melanie stood next to the garage door awkwardly. She stole a glance at Gabriel, but he seemed engrossed in watching Sam. She wanted to hug him and lean against his chest and have him wrap his arms around her and tell her that it would be alright, but she also wanted to jump in the car and drive as far away from him as possible. It hurt, more than she could have imagined. 

“I can’t believe we even have to do this,” she griped, to no one in particular. “What kind of grown-ass man doesn’t know that if leaves fall on the roof and land in the gutter, they’re going to clog it unless you clear them out? I mean, did he think they’d magically dissolve?” 

“I could magically dissolve them,” Gabriel pointed out. 

“Yeah, that won’t seem weird,” Sam scoffed. “Low profile, Angel?” He climbed into the backseat, stretching out his legs into the space created with the middle seats folded down, resting them on top of the tools. “Ohhh, this is going to be a comfy ride.” Gabriel shrugged and got into the passenger seat as Melanie started the car. 

It was a short drive from her parents’ house to the little stone house she’d inherited from her grandmother. There was a small, quaint downtown to get through, complete with general store and defunct train station now serving as a diner, then a few miles of country roads through cornfields. Melanie turned the radio up and sang along, though the shuffle seemed to be turning up the most heartbroken and melodramatic showtunes in her collection. At last, they pulled into the driveway of the old farmhouse. The house was ahead of them to the left, a barn further ahead and to the right. Beyond the grassy backyard and the treeline were fields that used to attach to the property generations ago, but had since been sold to adjoining farms. 

Sam walked up the driveway, crunching leaves and branches beneath his feet. Last fall’s leaves still laid thickly on the paved driveway. Melanie crunched along behind him, and Gabriel a few feet behind her. 

“I can’t believe the guy doesn’t know you have to clean a gutter every once in a while,” Melanie muttered yet again. She liked her tenant well enough. He paid on time and rarely called her with any problems. There had been a plumbing issue early on. She thought he probably hadn’t realized that you can’t put food scraps down a kitchen sink with no garbage disposal, but she’d paid the plumber’s bill without a word. But right now, it felt good to have something to complain about, other than the overwhelming grief and sadness. 

“What’s his occupation?” Sam asked. “Absent-minded professor?” 

“Nah, he’s a writer. Novelist, I guess. You know, I actually tried finding his books but they’re not on Amazon or anything. Who knows. He pays his rent and at least he hasn’t blown my house up.” She made the last few steps up to the front porch and went to ring the doorbell. Ringing her own doorbell. She looked wistfully around at her familiar porch furniture. 

The door opened slowly, creakily. Sam made a mental note to oil the hinges as well before they left. But his mental note was quickly forgotten when he saw the form of the man standing in front of him. 

“Chuck,” he exclaimed. “Chuck freaking Shurley rents your house, Melanie?” 

Chuck smiled up nervously at the tall Winchester. “Hi, Sam. Hope you’re well. Melanie, I – oh. Oh.” He gaped at Gabriel, standing behind Melanie. “Wow. Well, um, why don’t you all come in for a drink before we get started?” he offered, quickly shifting out of the astonishment. Melanie turned to Gabriel, a puzzled look on her face. Gabriel was frowning in confusion. 

“Chuck, you and Sam know each other?” she asked as they walked in the door. “Well doesn’t that just… beat all?” she finished lamely. She had learned years ago that there were seldom any coincidences in the Winchesters’ world. “I don’t suppose anyone’s going to fill me in?” She wondered, too, where Gabriel fit into this. There had definitely been a spark of recognition, at least on Chuck’s part. She couldn’t read whether Gabriel was confused or just concealing something again. 

“Ah, yeah,” Chuck began nervously. 

“Yeah. Yeah, and Gabe should recognize him, too,” Sam said pointedly. 

“So we’re… all on the same page here?” Melanie asked warily. 

“Sam met me back when, um, there was this Apocalypse,” Chuck faltered, staring at Gabriel. 

“I don’t recognize you,” Gabriel said coldly. “Sam, why should I recognize him?” He was guarded now, moving not so subtly in front of his human lovers, a flinch away from extending his blade. Chuck just looked at him sadly. 

“He’s a prophet,” Sam blurted out incredulously. “Cas said you guys all know all the prophets. Cas knew him.” 

“We do know all the prophets, and this guy ain’t on my list,” Gabriel said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the writer. His body tensed and Melanie felt the hair on her neck rise from the crackle of electricity around her as his wings extended invisibly in front of them. 

Chuck sighed tiredly, rubbing his temples. “Gabriel, can I speak to you privately? Maybe Sam and Melanie want to get started on those gutters? I promise, all this-“ he gestured to the invisible span of Gabriel’s wings “-is not necessary.” Chuck turned and walked toward the sliding glass doors and out onto the patio. Gabriel stalked after him, his face stony. 

“Well that was weird,” Sam said. 

“Should we be worried?” Melanie asked. “You think he’s a prophet but Gabe doesn’t?” 

“I don’t think he’s anything to worry about, but this doesn’t make any sense. He had visions. Like, he wrote all these books about Dean and me. All this stuff that happened up until I went… went to Hell.” 

“But archangels are supposed to know all the prophets?” 

“Yeah, Cas said all angels did. And archangels are supposed to be programmed to protect them.” 

“Well, so Gabe’s not exactly with the program. Maybe this is a good thing,” Melanie said wryly. “Come on, let’s go hoe some gutters. Or, rather, you hoe and I watch.” 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suspect this is the chapter you've all been waiting for. ;)

In the back yard, Chuck walked over to the fire pit area. He brushed the dirt off one of the wooden Adirondack chairs there and gestured to it, but Gabriel remained standing and guarded. Chuck then cleared another for himself and sat down. 

“So you don’t recognize me at all, huh?” Chuck began, picking at his sleeve. 

“No. In fact, I can’t even get a read on you as a human. Or angel, or demon, or anything. So start talking, bucko.” 

Chuck stared at Gabriel, astonished. “You always did have an attitude,” he said reproachfully. “Long time out of Heaven for you, but that is still the same.” 

Gabriel threw his hands wide. “Fine, you got me. I’m a smart-mouthed asshole. But I’m a smart-mouthed asshole who wants to know what the hell is going on. I don’t take kindly to lying, sneaky creatures messing with my beloved humans. And I can’t think of another explanation for this.” 

“Yes you can,” Chuck said, a note of pride in his voice. “You couldn’t have managed as a Trickster all those years if you weren’t as clever and observant as I always thought you were.” 

Gabriel swallowed thickly as a prickle went down his spine. “Can’t…” 

Chuck waved his finger in the air, and suddenly Gabriel was looking at the True Face of his Father. 

“Daddy,” the archangel choked out, his eyes filling with tears. “Oh, _Father_!” He dropped to his knees at Chuck’s feet, bowing his head as tears streamed down his face. 

Chuck ran a hand through the sandy-blond hair of the trembling archangel. “Gabriel. My son. Beloved son.” 

At last, Gabriel pulled back and sniffled. “Why, Daddy? Why did you go?” His voice sounded so small and hurt, nothing like the ancient, powerful being he was. 

“Oh, Son. You know what a mess everything was. You were never going to work out what you all needed to work out with me hovering around.” 

“Yeah, bang-up job we’ve done without you,” Gabriel snarked angrily, sitting back on the ground, heedless of the mud. 

“Some more than others,” Chuck agreed, perching on the chair. He pulled the lid off the fire pit and started carefully arranging the kindling underneath. He pulled a blue Bic lighter from his pocket and lit a small fire. “You’re all still learning. But hey, that’s the important part. Progress is being made. You’ve done quite well recently,” Chuck added, beaming down at his son. “I know you had some bad years, but you see, you’ve turned it around. I knew you could.” 

Gabriel snorted at the praise. “Fine, go off while we all do our thing, but you couldn’t answer one of us? Not once?” 

Chuck shook his head slightly. “No, I really couldn’t. Where do I draw the line?” 

Gabriel sighed. “But I missed you,” he said softly. “I was scared and alone for so long.” 

“It made you strong, Son. The kind of strong you had to be to save Sam. The kind of strong that makes Melanie look at you with… what does Lottie say?… heart eyes.” 

Gabriel sighed, not wanting to think about that particular ache. “Was it you that brought me back?” 

Chuck shrugged. “And Cas, all those times. I probably shouldn’t have, but I just couldn’t resist.” 

“You get involved more than we ever know, don’t you?” Gabriel asked, narrowing his eyes at his Father. 

“Ehhh, you’ve got me there,” Chuck said with a nervous laugh. 

Gabriel stretched his hands out to the crackle of the fire. “What do we tell the others?” 

Chuck looked thoughtful. “I can’t ask you to lie to them about this. Especially not Castiel.” 

“I think you hurt him worse than you hurt me,” Gabriel agreed. “And Sam will figure it out whether I tell him or not. You know how he is. Smart and relentless.” 

“And Melanie?” 

“Well she’ll probably raise your rent,” Gabriel sighed, shrugging. Chuck blinked. “No, I’m serious. This, in addition to the clogged gutters. Yeesh, Daddy. You should have heard her.” 

Chuck laughed nervously. “Yeah, I guess I could have managed that on my own. But, hey, it got you here so I could congratulate you in person.” 

Gabriel looked up, astonished. Then, he shook himself. “Of course you know,” he murmured. “I’ve hidden from them that I know that it’s mine. I wanted to spare them the heartbreak as long as possible. Not that it’s working, but its my selfishness, I guess. I don’t want to see them cry. I don’t want to-” His voice cracked. “Daddy, please don’t make me-“ 

“Shh, shh, Gabriel,” said Chuck soothingly, leaning forward to take his son’s face between his hands. “I only want to congratulate you on your son. Enjoy him. Love him. Raise him well.” 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *TW - Thoughts of suicide mentioned*

There was a large pile of soggy, rotting leaves on the front lawn. Sam had raked the gutters the length of the house and they were all clear. Now he stood on the stepstool frowning at the downspout, which was completely clogged. “Maybe if I stick the hoe in there,” he mused, holding the implement handle-side-down and jamming it into the downspout. A few leaves fell out the bottom, but the force dislodged the pipe itself and sent it crashing to the sidewalk. 

“Goddammit!” Melanie shouted, kicking the metal and sending it clattering down the driveway. 

“Mel!” Sam sighed. “Don’t bend it. I can fix it. Probably.” He stepped down and squatted on the ground beside it, plucking leaves out a handful at a time. 

“This is stupid,” she grumbled, sitting down at the other end and pulling at gross, slimy leaves. 

Half an hour later they had each cleared a portion, but there was so much more of the pipe that they had no hope of reaching. 

“What if we blast it with the garden hose?” Sam suggested. 

“What if we go to the hardware store and buy a new one?” Melanie answered, her face wry. 

“I smell smoke,” Sam said suddenly, standing up and brushing his hands off. He pulled Melanie to her feet and they walked around the side of the house. A cheery fire was crackling in the little fire pit. Chuck and Gabriel were perched on chairs, each with a toasting fork full of marshmallows. Chuck was talking animatedly, Gabriel laughing uproariously. Sam and Melanie glanced at each other and continued approaching the pair. 

“Hey guys,” Melanie said. “So I guess… did you figure it all out?” She looked curiously between them. 

“Yeppers,” Gabriel said. “Marshmallow?” He held out the fork to her and she plucked a crispy black marshmallow from it. He angled it toward Sam, who selected a golden-brown one. Four other marshmallows of varying degrees of doneness lined up the tines. He popped two into his own mouth. 

“So, do you know Chuck?” Sam asked. 

“I know Him… but not as Chuck,” said Gabriel slowly, around the mouthful. 

“I do go by Chuck now, though,” Chuck said seriously. “It’s a good name.” 

“If it’s all the same with you, I’ll stick with-“ Gabriel stopped abruptly, shaking his head. “Sam, Melanie, sit down.” He snapped his fingers and they found themselves suddenly seated. They both directed indignant looks at the archangel, but were too intrigued to protest. “You know what, guys, it’s high time I introduced you. Melanie, Sam, I’d like you to meet my Dad.” 

Sam turned his head slowly to look at Chuck. “You don’t… you can’t… really? Like really, actual…” he sputtered. 

“Yeah, it’s me,” said Chuck awkwardly. “The Big Guy. Ironic, huh?” 

Melanie made a little squeaky noise and her eyes grew round. She looked back and forth between Gabriel and Chuck. 

“But how can you-“ Melanie started. “How can this be how you… what about all the people who needed you?” She glanced to Gabriel. “Are we here now because…” 

Sam leaned over and placed a comforting hand on Melanie’s knee. 

“Don’t be afraid,” Chuck said gently. His blue eyes were warm and kind. “I haven’t brought you here for anything bad.” 

Gabriel reached over and slipped his hand in hers. “We’re having a baby, Sweetheart,” he said gently. Melanie drew a shaky breath and smiled at him. 

“It’s not going to be easy,” Chuck warned. “I mean, some of that stuff that you’ve heard is true. Nephilim are fierce by nature and can too easily become power hungry and violent. They are powerful and capricious. This will not be an easy child to raise. You three have your work cut out for you.” 

Melanie gulped and squeezed Gabriel’s hand. “I think we’re up for the challenge.” 

“Sam, are you okay?” Gabriel asked. 

“What? Yeah, of course,” he said. “As long as everyone’s safe.” His hand tightened on Melanie’s knee. “I’m happy for you. Really. There’s no reason for me to feel jealous. We’re all in this together, right?” 

“Mmhm,” said Gabriel, poking a few more marshmallows onto his fork and extending it to the fire. “Well, I’ve always thought so.” 

“So, um.. Chuck,” Sam began uncomfortably. “I’m really, really glad to know that You’re… here, but… I wish… I mean, maybe You can’t tell me, but… there was so much stuff…” Sam sighed and ran his hands through this hair. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t.” 

Chuck shrugged. “There are things that I would have loved to fix. I never want anyone to suffer, Sam. But there are reasons. Some complex reasons, and… well it all comes back to free will, Son. I know you’re a fan of that concept.” 

Sam nodded, his eyes filled with tears. “Thank You for all that You have done,” he said earnestly. “I do appreciate how blessed we are. Especially knowing that Mel and the baby are safe.” 

Melanie swallowed around a lump in her throat. She hugged her arm across her stomach, acknowledging the little life in there. Gabriel squeezed her hand, his honey eyes warm on her. “Are we good?” he asked softly. 

“Actually… no,” she replied. “I… it’s going to be… we should…” 

Gabriel’s heart sank. “Dad, Sam… Melanie and I would like to take a short walk,” he said. “We need to sort some things out.” 

“Go ahead, Son,” said Chuck. He waved his hand, materializing a beer and handing it to Sam. “Sam and I can hang out.” 

They walked off into the trees, a few dozen feet into the underbrush before Melanie stopped suddenly and sat on a fallen log, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I can’t trust you anymore,” she said without preamble. “That kind of puts a damper on things. You used to be my protector, and now I can’t see you that way anymore.” 

“What? But… but Dad said…” Gabriel dropped to the ground in front of her, kneeling in the mud. 

“He did,” she said grimly. “What if He’d said differently? Gabriel, I cannot just overlook the fact that you were poised to kill our child. Maybe even me.” 

“Never!” he cried. “Okay, first of all? Killing the mothers was never part of the deal. Some of my asshole siblings take their jobs way too far, and lack compassion. This should not be news to you. Second of all. Second of all…” He took a deep breath and bowed his head. “I would have- if it had come down to it, if there was no other way for me to avoid the task - I would have put my blade through my own heart and been done with it.” 

“No…” Melanie said weakly. “Gabe, you… no.” 

“I am not strong like Sam. If I thought all was lost… well, I almost thought so, for a while.” He looked up at her, tears running down his face. “But I just kept thinking, I’ll squeeze out just a little more time with them first. Just a few more months of joy.” 

Melanie slid forward, kneeling in the mud in front of him and cupped his head in her hands. She kissed each teary cheek, then brought her salty lips to his. His kiss was sweet and electric. His hands slid around her waist, then downward to cup her ass and pull her close against him. When they tumbled sideways together into the mossy forest floor, Melanie pulled out of the kiss suddenly. 

“Gabe, your Dad is right over there,” she said mildly. “What if-“ 

“It’s not like He doesn’t see everything we do together anyway,” Gabriel scoffed. 

“Dude!” Melanie exclaimed, mortified. 

“I know. Just try not to think about it,” he suggested, slipping his hand down the front of her pants to curl his fingers around the tiny rounded bump just above her pubic bone. “Finally, I can truly appreciate how hot it is that you’re carrying my baby.” 

She sighed as his fingers shifted beneath the waistband of her panties and teased across her slit, finding the heat and the slickness there already. His other hand went up her shirt, kneading her breasts, thumbing across her swollen nipples. Melanie threw her head back and groaned as Gabriel’s head came down between, kissing and biting at her stomach. 

“I need you now. Please,” he gasped. His fingers dipped deeper, demanding and drawing her arousal. 

“Yes,” she whispered, thrusting upward against his hand. He withdrew it and she whimpered in disappointment, but he was twisting her body around, putting her on her hands and knees. In seconds he had her pants and her panties shoved down out of the way and his cock free of his jeans and was teasing it against her. “Okay?” he asked. She nodded and gasped out an assent, and he pressed forward into her. He grabbed her hips roughly and thrust again until he was snug against the curve of her ass. 

“Mel… my sweetness,” he moaned. He leaned forward, curving his body over hers, and brought one hand around her hip to finger her gently again. “I can’t lose you, I can’t,” he murmured. 

“Gabriel,” she gasped, her face pressed into the soft moss, the damp, earthy smell thick in her nose. “Not going anywhere, honey,” she sighed, almost too soft to be heard. He squeezed her hip with his free hand in grateful acknowledgement and kept up a steady pace of thrusting, each drawing another moan or whimper from her. His fingers worked slow circles around her clit. In minutes, she was on the verge of her orgasm. “I’m- Oh! Yes!” He came seconds after she did, with the snap of unfurling wings. She glanced up and saw gold feathers shining above her head. Gabriel stilled against her, his hands smoothing gently over her back and shoulders. 

His wings drooped down and she touched a feather questingly. This was nothing like the occasional static electricity crackle, the barely perceptible disturbance in the atmosphere around him, that she had sometimes witnessed. They were real, really there, proper wings, flesh and bone and feathers ranging from golden-brown to shimmering gold. Melanie twisted her body beneath his, dislodging his cock with a warm, wet trickle, and laid on her back to look up at them in awe. 

“Are they supposed to do that?” Gabriel was standing up and fastening his pants and he looked at her quizzically. Melanie likewise righted her clothing and scrambled to her feet, never taking her eyes from the glorious expanse of wings sprouting from her lover’s back. 

“Are what do what?” he asked. “Ohhh, these? Ehh, I kinda lost control of them there,” he said sheepishly. He shook them out, putting the feathers back in place, and then flexed them again and they slipped into invisibility. “Hey, are you okay, Sugar? That wasn’t… too much?” 

“That was amazing,” she purred, kissing him. “I loved it. I love you.” 

Gabriel breathed out a sigh of relief. “I love you, Sweetness.” He rested his cheek on the top of her head then pressed a kiss there. 

“We should probably…” 

“Yeah,” he agreed. 

They walked out of the woods and across the clearing, hands clasped. It did not occur to Melanie that she probably should have smoothed her hair and clothes a bit, at least brushed the leaves and twigs off before returning, until Sam caught her eye with a very expressive eyebrow. She sat carefully on the chair, watching the fire in front of her, trying to control her face into a neutral expression. Gabriel sprawled into the chair next to her and resumed toasting marshmallows, a very self-satisfied smirk on his face. Chuck gave them a sideways glance, but said nothing. 

“So, um,” Sam began, clearing his throat. “G- Chuck was saying that maybe we should go out?” 

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe some bowling, or, ooh, mini golf? We could go pick up Charlotte and spend some, you know, family time together?” 

Melanie smiled. “She’ll love that. She wanted to come – she remembers you – and she was mad but with the gutter situation I figured she’d get in the way and – Oh G- J- sorry, sorry! But, the gutters, the drainpipe thing, it fell down and it’s totally clogged and we couldn’t-“ 

“Ah,” said Chuck sheepishly. He wiggled his hand. “All better.” 

“Okay so, mini golf? Tell you what, we’ll go round up the kid and meet you there in two hours?” Melanie said, standing up and brushing off. 

“Sounds good,” Chuck agreed. “Looking forward to it, kids!” He followed them out to the driveway and waved as they got in the car to drive away. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: smut, serious talks, passive aggressive gardening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this stalled for so long! Between school kicking my ass, and the excitement of NJcon, it's been tough to get to this. But on the other hand I now know exactly what hugging Rich feels like. Holy crap. And yes, yes his eyes really are that golden. Holy crap.
> 
> Anyway, this may have to hold you over til the end of the semester. Wish me luck!

The drive back was spent mostly in stunned silence, each processing the events of the day individually. At the house they got out of the car and immediately fell into a hug. “We’re okay,” Melanie whispered in disbelief. “It’s all going to be okay.” Gabriel’s face crumpled as the cascade of emotions washed over him, and he sobbed into her hair. Sam just squeezed the two of them tighter. They stood like this for a few minutes until Gabriel’s sobs abated and he pulled out of the embrace. Sam gently wiped Gabriel’s cheeks, a soft smile in his eyes. 

The trio slipped through the patio door into the Weiss family kitchen. The sound of cartoons floated up the stairs from the basement rec room. Charlotte and Mrs. Weiss were apparently having a princess movie sing-along, judging from the swelling crescendo and warbling voices. “I’ll get the kiddo ready,” Gabriel volunteered. 

Melanie breathed a sigh of relief and headed upstairs to the shower. She started with shampooing her hair, watching the bits of leaf and twigs run down onto the shower floor. Sam followed her in and perched on the toilet lid. 

“Did you two seriously… in the woods? In… in God’s backyard?” 

“Yes, Sam,” she said, a note of exasperation in her voice. “And it’s still my backyard. Technically.” 

“I think that’s probably a question for religious philosophers everywhere.” He bent to pick up her dirty clothes and shook them out. “There’s _moss_ in your panties.” 

“Yes, I was acutely aware of that fact, thank you,” she answered tersely, rubbing conditioner through her hair. 

“How are you feeling about everything?” he asked. “You’ve been kind of all over the map, emotionally. And, I mean… God.” 

“Sam, our boyfriend is an archangel. This isn’t that much of a step up in the mindfuck department.” She squeezed honeysuckle bodywash onto the shower puff and started scrubbing. “The baby, though… are you upset that it’s not yours? Cause you seemed, kinda.” 

“I guess, a little sad,” he admitted. “I always used to want - back when I thought I might actually get a normal life - I wanted to have a bunch of kids, you know?” 

“I hope that you’ll be just as much of a father to this one as you are to Lottie. Just as Gabriel has done,” she said gently. Sam bristled at the reprimand. 

“Oh yeah! Yeah, of course! But you know, maybe… I mean, in a few years, you and I… could make another?” 

Melanie chuckled. “I think I’m bowing out after this. Get Gabriel to carry the next one.” 

Sam made an amused noise, but he gazed at the floor sadly. “Can we table the discussion and think about it later?” 

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said. “Hey um. Have you ever… seen Gabriel’s wings before?” 

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen them a couple of times. I don’t think he likes it much when that happens. Means he’s… distracted, stressed, you know? I think it scares him,” Sam added softly. “You know if he didn’t reign it in, there’d be a big Grace blast… one of the things about screwing humans that scares him.” 

“Ah,” Melanie frowned. “Explains why he didn’t want to talk about it. Now I kind of feel bad. But I really liked it,” she said, shutting the water off and pulling the shower curtain open. Sam gulped and handed her a towel. He leaned against the wall and watched her as she toweled off. “See something you like?” she teased. 

“You’re beautiful,” he said breathlessly. He offered her a hand as she stepped out of the tub. She paused while standing on the edge of the tub for a kiss. 

“Ooh, this is convenient,” she said, nose to nose with him. He laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her again, then helped her down. Sam followed her into the bedroom and sat on the bed while she rifled through her bags for clothes that still fit. 

“Hey, uh… while you’re still naked…” he grinned at her lustily. “This bed’s small but I think we can squeeze together.” 

“I don’t know,” Melanie said hesitantly as he pulled her onto his lap. “Still a little sore - _Sam._ ” she purred, wiggling against him. “You are rock hard,” she sighed appreciatively. 

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly, his hands stroking up and down her back. “Well there’s a gorgeous naked woman in my lap. And I keep thinking about her having sex with my boyfriend in the woods, and it’s really hot.” 

Melanie nuzzled his neck and kissed a trail to his earlobe. “Welllll, we don’t have much time but how about if I suck you off real quick?” she whispered into his ear. 

“Okay,” he agreed eagerly as she slid off his lap to kneel on the floor between his feet. Her hands slid up his thighs and palmed across his hard length. Sam groaned. She made quick work of unfastening his jeans, and Sam shifted upward to allow her to slide them down his hips. 

Melanie kissed his inner thigh, then sucked a bruise onto the skin there, feeling the quivering muscles beneath. When he gasped, she grinned up at him and repeated it on the other side. She gently scratched her fingernails up his legs to his hips and then back down again, eliciting a shiver. Sam breathed raggedly as she continued this, back and forth, licking and sucking his sensitive inner thighs. 

Having teased him for a few minutes, Melanie wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked up and down contemplatively. She brought it near her lips, breathing a delicate ghost of a breath across it. Sam whimpered, beads of precum dripping toward her fingers. She darted her tongue out and licked around the head, sucked him into her mouth, and flicked her tongue along the underside in a practiced motion. Sam drew a shaky breath and threaded his fingers into her hair. “So good,” he groaned. Melanie hummed in agreement. 

She bobbed up and down, finding a smooth rhythm. Her hair swung against his thighs with a cool, wet slap with each movement. Sam’s fingers massaged her scalp gently. Melanie’s hands stroked his thighs and slid her fingers around his balls, gently squeezing, releasing, stroking her fingertips over the delicate skin. She ran her tongue around the head, circling it a few times before returning to the up and down rhythm. “Yes… yes… Mel…” Sam sighed. She looked up at him, his head thrown back, eyes closed, sweat glistening on his face. His thighs were shuddering uncontrollably and she knew he must be close. She dragged her teeth delicately up the shaft and then tongued the underside firmly, just at the base of the head where she knew it would drive him wild. Sam’s fingers were digging into her scalp now and he was breathing in short gasping pants, in between moaning her name. She hollowed out her cheeks and sucked, continuing the tongue action, and then Sam gave a cry and spurted in her mouth. Melanie gave a few more gentle squeezes to his balls, feeling them tense up in her hands. When at last he was done, she pulled her lips free and swallowed it down, salty and warm. 

“Oh, babe,” he said in awe, drawing her up to him and wrapping his arms around her. “Thank you.” He kissed her. “I love you.” 

She chuckled. “I love you, too. Thank you for letting me. I love making you come apart like that.” She stroked her hands up over his chest as she stood up. 

“You sure I can’t do something for you?” he asked. 

“Later,” she promised, kissing his forehead. She turned to her bag and resumed getting dressed. She picked a floral sundress and a green cardigan. Too dressy for mini golf perhaps, but her pants didn’t fit. And maybe one dressed up a little for mini golf with God. 

“Okay, I’m starting to get nervous,” she said suddenly. 

“It’ll be fine. I think you’d be the last one among us to end up in the hot seat,” Sam said. He stood up and pulled his pants back on, and ran his fingers through his hair. 

They went downstairs and stood in the kitchen. “Wonder where Gabe is. I thought he was going to get Charlotte ready,” Melanie mused. 

“Listen,” said Sam. They could still hear the sound of princess movies and singing downstairs. But there was a new voice added to the mix. Gabriel had apparently been induced to sing a duet with Charlotte. 

“Wow, he’s good at that,” Melanie said. 

“Voice of an angel,” Sam agreed with a grin. They crept down the basement stairs just as the song was ending. Charlotte hopped down off the coffee table and bounded over to them. Gabriel stood nearby. Melanie’s mother was nowhere to be seen. Melanie figured she’d found somewhere else in the house to be once Gabriel had showed up, as was typical during their visits. Mrs. Weiss begrudgingly accepted their unconventional relationship, but did little to disguise the fact that she felt that it would be improved by trimming Gabriel from the equation. 

“Daddydaddydaddy. Mommy!” Charlotte held her arms up to Sam and he stooped down to lift her up, his face erupting into sunshiney joy at the sight of her. 

“How’s Daddy’s princess?” he crooned, smooching her freckley nose. Charlotte giggled. 

“Goooood,” she answered. “Gabe says we’re gonna go mini golf soon.” 

“Yes, he was supposed to be getting you ready,” said Melanie, patting Charlotte’s cheek. The child was clad in a Princess Jasmine costume, including plastic shoes and a blue ribbon tiara with a shiny plastic jewel. 

“What, she’s ready. She has shoes on, she’s been potty, she’s not hungry or thirsty or tired,” Gabriel said defensively. 

“Princess Jasmine does not play mini golf,” said Melanie. 

“She would like to,” answered Charlotte. “She would be so good. She’d beat everyone.” 

Sam snuggled her. “You look adorable. I think it’s fine, Mel. She’s a kid. Just… let it go.” 

Melanie sighed. “Maybe if it was any other outing but… kind of a big deal, you know?” 

“I don’t think this is the sort of thing that matters. I mean… kind of a human concern,” he said. 

“What he said,” Gabriel confirmed, sliding an arm around her waist. “Relax, Mel.” 

“Well, I guess I’m outvoted,” she shrugged. “Let’s go mini golf, guys, Princess.” 

Melanie found her mother digging in the front flowerbeds. “Hey, we’re going to go hit the mini golf course with.. an old friend of Gabe’s,” she said. “Not sure if we’ll be back for dinner. I’ll text you.” 

“Oh. Mmm. Well that’s fine. I’m sure I can whip something up last minute if you decide to come back.” 

“Oh, don’t be silly. If we come back for dinner we’ll order pizza or something. Ask Daddy when he gets home; I’m sure he’ll agree.” Not waiting for her mother to grumble further, she walked across the yard toward the minivan. Sam and Gabriel had unloaded the tools and loaded up the kid and were waiting for her. Sam had once again taken the back seat, next to Charlotte, leaving Gabriel up front with her. 

“Crap, we’ve only got half an hour,” Melanie fretted, starting the car. 

“Took you forever to shower and get dressed,” Gabriel said pointedly. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, grinning wickedly. 

“Yeah well, it was worth having to hurry up a little.” She winked at Sam in the rear view mirror, then started to drive. Melanie knew these roads well, and was not shy about speed when she had a reason to hurry. Not standing up The Almighty God seemed like a pretty good reason. 

After one particularly fast corner, Gabriel whimpered, clutching the handle above the door. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to drive faster than your guardian angel can fly?” he protested. 

“Didn’t know you were so slow,” she answered impishly. “Do try to keep up, Honey.” But she slowed down, just a bit. She could see Sam’s frowny face in the rearview mirror. If she could rattle Sam after years of Dean’s driving, it was probably too much. 

They still managed to arrive with three minutes to spare, and no sign of Chuck in the parking lot. Melanie eased the van into a spot at the far end of the gravel parking lot and exhaled sharply. She looked over at Gabriel, who was biting his fingernail. That was not reassuring. 

“Things went well before, right?” she said warily. “You two seemed to be having a good time.” 

“Yeah. We did have a good talk,” he said. “I mean, he said he was proud of me.” 

“Wow,” said Sam, leaning forward between the seats to clasp Gabriel’s hand. “I mean, I think he should be. Of course. But that’s gotta be big, to hear that from your dad.” Gabriel squeezed his hand back. 

"What are we doing?” asked Charlotte nervously, watching her parents’ strange behavior. Sam shifted backwards and smiled at her reassuringly, opening the sliding door. 

“I told you already, Pipsqueak, we’re going to play mini golf,” Gabriel said lightly. She squinted at him skeptically. 

“Chuck’s going to meet us here, too,” Melanie added. “You remember Chuck.” 

“Who’s Chuck?” Charlotte replied. 

“Okay, maybe you don’t,” Melanie said in amusement. 

“He, um. He lives in your old house,” Sam began as they hopped out of the car. “Do you remember when you were first coming to the bunker to live and he rented the house?” 

“Ohhhh, that guy!” Charlotte exclaimed brightly. “I love that guy!” 

Gabriel laughed. “He does have a way with kids. And he’s really looking forward to seeing you, Sweetness.” He ruffled the child’s hair and sighed contentedly, relaxing in response to her cheerfulness, and he let himself believe that it would all go smoothly. 


	23. Chapter 23

They crunched along the gravel parking lot and into the long brown building at the far end. All along was the chain link fence with the mini golf course on the other side. Beyond that, they could hear go-karts racing and carousel music, the other main attractions of the little amusement venue. Inside the building were arcade machines and a snack bar with beer and pizza and burgers and various other greasy offerings. Inadequate fluorescent lighting gave the place a hazy, dim atmosphere, each brilliantly lit video game its own oasis. 

Seeing no sign of Chuck in the building, Sam suggested playing some games while they waited. Melanie produced a handful of quarters from her purse. Charlotte grabbed at one eagerly and chose the whack-a-mole game. Laughing and shrieking, she eagerly swung the mallet at the little mole puppets as they popped up, catching a few of them now and then. 

Gabriel stood nearby and cheered her on, hands stuffed in his jeans pockets, the golden curls at the nape of his neck just brushing the dark blue collar of his button down shirt. For the first time in weeks, the lightheartedness of the archangel seemed genuine, not an act. 

Sam watched them for a moment with a smile, then plucked a quarter out of Melanie’s palm and wandered over to a machine and busied himself navigating the little frog safely across the street. Melanie, meanwhile, popped a quarter into the nearby skeeball machine and began bowling the little balls. She got a few in the higher numbered rings and shouted when it spit out a strand of tickets at her. 

“What are we going to do with our tickets, Lottie?” she asked. 

“I want that,” Charlotte answered, pointing to the iPad hanging from the ceiling at the prize counter. 

“Sweetie, that’s like a million tickets,” Melanie said. “Maybe the fuzzy purple bunny?” Charlotte didn’t answer, concentrating harder on the moles to try to make more tickets pop out. 

“We need more tickets, do we?” Gabriel asked, theatrically plucking a quarter from Melanie’s ear. He sauntered up to a shooting game and started firing at the little squirrel figures that scrolled by, catching most of them but missing a few. “You should be doing this, Winchester,” he grumbled. “This is hard.” 

Sam snickered. “Yeah, I should. You’re a terrible shot. Maybe later.” He glanced around the room, debating which game he could play next to further Charlotte’s ticket count. He smiled nervously as he saw Chuck walk through the room and approach them. He wore a faded blue t-shirt and a dark brown leather jacket, so clearly this was not a formal function as Melanie had feared. Chuck winked at Sam, then came to stand behind Melanie and watch her roll the balls. Her accuracy suddenly improved and she hit the tiny 500 pocket with each ball. Dozens of tickets spit from the machine. 

Melanie let out an excited shriek. She gathered up the chain of tickets and twirled around triumphantly, nearly colliding with Chuck. Still bubbling over with excitement, she grabbed his shoulders and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Did you see that?” she gushed. “I’m a rockstar!” 

Chuck laughed, touching his cheek shyly. “Yeah, that was pretty good – oof!” he exclaimed as Charlotte collided with his hip and demanded to be picked up. “Hey, Little One,” he crooned. “Well, haven’t you grown!” 

“I’ve missed you!” she said earnestly, patting his cheeks. 

“I’m always here, Little One,” he said. “Whatever you need, let me know.” 

“Sometimes I talk to you in my head,” she said thoughtfully. “I don’t know why. Ever since I met you when I was so little. I kinda knew you’d listen.” She rested her cheek on his shoulder. 

“I totally listen,” he assured her softly. “Gotta say though, I agree with your mom that Gabriel feeds you too much sugar and I’m not going to be sending you the endless cupcakes you keep asking for. And, sorry Sweetheart, but the wings are kind of out of the question.” Charlotte pulled a face and sighed, then shifted her attention to playing with Chuck’s hair. 

“Right under the bus, huh Pops?” Gabriel said, crossing his arms. 

“You’ll roll right out the other side just fine, Son,” Chuck answered glibly. “Now, are we going to play some more arcade games, or are we going to get some golf clubs?” 

“I’m down for mini golf as long as we can make an agreement,” said Sam. “No… _advantages,_ ” he said pointedly, glancing back and forth from Chuck to Gabriel. 

“Ooh, good point,” said Melanie with a twinkle in her eye, slipping an arm around Sam’s waist. “I mean, we don’t want to overwhelm them with our skills, Sam. Let’s each tie an arm behind our backs.” 

Sam scowled. “Mel, we beat Dean and Cas only because Gabe was screwing with Cas the whole time.” 

“He wasn’t even there!” 

“Just because you didn’t see him?” Sam said, squinting at Gabriel, who was looking off to the side refusing to meet their eyes. 

Melanie shook her head. “Well okay, maybe we need to agree on, um, standard abilities only.” 

Chuck and Gabriel looked at each other. “Eh, I can do that,” Chuck said, shrugging. 

“Gabe?” asked Sam sternly. Gabriel pouted. 

“Oh, yeah, I can make him do that too,” Chuck said airily. 

“What?” squawked the archangel. “Pops!” 

“Ohhh, this is going to be fun!” Sam said triumphantly. Gabriel glared at him and stalked toward the door that led out to the mini golf range. The rest of the party trailed after him. 

They had soon sorted out payment and equipment and began the game. “Youngest to oldest,” Melanie suggested, handing Charlotte a putter. The child gave the ball a good solid whack and watched as it circled crazily three times and then dropped into the hole. 

“Yay yay yay yay!” she shouted, jumping around in circles. 

“Oh for the love of-“ Gabriel started to grumble. 

“Shh Son, it’s Sam’s turn,” Chuck said, waving a hand at Gabriel, who suddenly went mute. 

Melanie placed a hand on Gabriel’s arm. “Let’s just have fun, okay?” she said softly. He nodded at her with a tight smile, though his eyes were still unhappy. Melanie stepped closer and put her arms around him and kissed him softly. “I know it’s been a topsy turvy day, honey,” she whispered against his lips. “But try to focus on the good parts.” She felt his arms tighten around her and he seemed to relax a little. 

The rest of the game proceeded normally. The adults were pretty evenly matched, with Chuck and Gabriel missing just as many shots as Sam and Melanie did. Only Charlotte managed a perfect hole in one every time no matter how she wielded the club. 

When they had finished the game and Charlotte emerged victorious, Chuck hoisted her onto his shoulders and paraded them to the snack bar. “I’d say this calls for pizza and beers,” he said, grinning. Gabriel smiled softly as the two of them passed by. It was good to see them both looking so happy, and he wondered if his earlier concern about Chuck being controlling was misplaced. Maybe the whole crazy game manipulation was just about giving Charlotte a magical time, not about establishing dominance over him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Chuck’s dampering upon his Grace lift. 

They settled down at one of the round plastic patio tables. Gabriel sat to Chuck’s left, then Sam, Melanie, and then Charlotte on Chuck’s right. Sam went to get their drinks from the counter, bringing a chocolate milk shake for Charlotte and strawberry for Melanie, and plastic cups and a pitcher of pale yellow beer for the rest. They sat quietly waiting for the tray of pizza to come out. 

“It’s been good to see you all,” Chuck said quietly. 

“Yeah,” Gabriel agreed, staring off into the distance. “But now where do we go from here?” 

“The carousel,” Charlotte said eagerly. 

Chuck laughed. “Maybe after pizza?” But he looked around at everyone else, the question still hanging in the air. 

“You know, I was wondering if you might want to come for a visit soon. See Dean and Cas,” Melanie said, cautiously. 

Sam sat up nervously. “Dean’s… Dean’s… I just don’t know how he’ll… And I mean, Cas was kinda….” 

“They’re both going to be pissed at you,” Gabriel finished. 

Charlotte slurped at her milkshake. “What did you do to piss off Uncle Cas and Uncle Dean, Mister Chuck Guy?” 

Chuck coughed. “Well uh. I kinda… didn’t call them or… hang out with them for a long time. Never answered my phone, you know?” 

“Sometimes I hide at home when Mommy’s calling me because I don’t want to take a bath or brush my teeth,” Charlotte confessed. “I bet they were trying to make you do something you don’t wanna, huh?” 

Chuck shrugged. “Um, sort of? What do you think I should do, Little One?” 

“Wellll…” she glanced around at her parents. “If Mommy gets mad at me ‘cause I was hiding, I let Gabe find me and talk to her first. If they get all smoochy-face she’s less grouchy.” 

“If you think I’m going smoochy-face at Dean and Cas, guess again,” Gabriel said drily. 

Sam scrubbed a hand over his face. “Brain bleach, stat.” 

Charlotte laughed loudly and squirmed in her chair. She leaned precariously at Chuck, then decided to climb into his lap. “Silly! We can just talk to them first. Nice and happy, but not smoochy. And not Gabe cause he always pisses off Uncle Dean. We should all tell them that Mister Chuck is sorry he was a crappy friend and wants to come play again. Plus also, I miss Bailey. I wonder if they have the space city built yet.” 

Chuck nodded thoughtfully. “What do you think, kids? Run a little interference for me?” 

“Same old, same old,” Gabriel said with a sigh. “Well, you know I’ll do it, Pops. Whatever you say. I’ll do my best. Like the munchkin says, soothing Dean is hardly my forte. Cas, I can usually get through to though. Whaddaya say Sammich, you get your bro and I’ll get mine?” He brushed a lock of Sam’s hair back from his face. 

Sam smiled tightly. “I’ll help on one condition. You promise you’re going to show, Chuck. Date, time, agree to it.” Gabriel inhaled sharply and his hand tightened on Sam’s arm. 

“Done,” Chuck said with a sigh. “Let’s call it Wednesday at noon. Give you a few days to wrap up, get home, et cetera, et cetera.” 

“Shall I write down directions to the bunker? You can give me a call and I’ll meet you outside,” Melanie said helpfully, digging through her purse for a notepad. 

“I’m omnipresent, Child. I’ll just be there,” Chuck said with a baffled look. Gabriel hid a smile behind his beer cup. 

After the pizza was eaten and the pitcher of beer emptied, the little party went to investigate the carousel. It was a large one, with dozens of antique painted wooden horses and an original, restored Wurlitzer pumping out loud music. Charlotte ran excitedly around the deck to choose the perfect horse. Chuck followed her, lifted her onto the horse, and then sat on the one next to her. 

“So, is this going to be fun? I’ve never gone on a carousel before,” he said, patting the wooden mane. 

“It’s SO MUCH FUN. Teacups are funner but they don’t have that here. We should go to the park someday that has all the rides. But this is good. You hafta put the seat belt on, Mister Chuck Guy. They’ll come do it for you if you don’t.” Sheepishly, Chuck fastened the harness strap around his waist. 

Melanie stopped a few horses behind them. “I want to get on a horse but I do not feel like climbing up there,” she said pointedly to Gabriel. 

“Allow me, my dear,” he replied gallantly, sweeping her easily off her feet and placing her on the horse. “Shall I sit on the one next to you?” 

“Yes,” said Sam, plopping onto a horse behind them. “That way I can sit here and admire the view.” Melanie giggled as Gabriel climbed onto the horse with an exaggerated wiggle of his backside. 

“What am I going to do with you two?” she muttered fondly. 

“I’ve got a list if you need ideas,” Gabriel suggested, waggling his eyebrows. She shot him an intrigued look but said nothing as the carousel started to fill up around them. 

Charlotte squealed in excitement as the ride started and the horse started to glide up and down. Chuck held on to the pole nervously. “These go kinda fast, don’t they?” he shouted to Charlotte. She just laughed. 

At the end of the ride, Gabriel dismounted and moved to help Melanie, but Sam popped in at her other side. “My turn?” he asked, sliding an arm around her waist. He lifted her into his arms and carried her off the ride, Gabriel following behind. 

“You can put me down now, Sam,” she said, though she tightened her arms around his neck. It was nice to be held by him; his tight muscles strained a bit but they were up to the challenge. He kissed her, just a few seconds of a tender kiss, then gently placed her on the ground. 

“It’s getting late for Lottie,” Sam said. “Probably should head back and get her to bed.” She started to whine, but Chuck picked her up in a big hug. 

“Shhh, don’t do that. I’ll see you soon,” he promised. Charlotte squeezed her little arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. 

“Scratchy,” she complained, petting the offending cheek. “But I like you.” 

Chuck laughed and passed her over to Sam. Sam settled the child on his hip and kissed the top of her head. 

“Gabriel, stay a while,” Chuck said. “We’ve still more catching up to do, I believe.” 

“Sure thing, Pops,” he agreed, though he knew that it hadn’t been a question. “See you kids later. Drive safely, Sugar,” he added, kissing Melanie on the nose. He ruffled Charlotte’s hair and patted Sam on the bottom as they walked away toward the car. 

Melanie navigated them back to the house, more cautiously without her guardian angel by her side. Sam sprawled in the passenger seat, deep in thought. He was quiet for most of the drive, but at last he turned toward her. “I’m happy about the... You and Gabe deserve this, and I’m happy to be a part of this with you. I love you both so much. I-“ his voice cracked and he reached over and squeezed her knee. Melanie felt the tears flow down her cheeks again, as they so easily did these days. She glanced over at Sam and his cheeks were glistening too. They exchanged a smile and continued the last few minutes of the drive in peaceful quiet. 


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family time, fluff, and smut.

Back at the Weiss home, Melanie’s parents were watching game shows in the den. Ed Weiss got up to give his daughter and granddaughter hugs when they came in, as he’d barely seen them yet this visit. He clapped Sam on the shoulder. “Where’s Gabe?” he asked, looking around. Ed was a big guy, broad shouldered and big bellied. His arms were muscular and his hands red and calloused from years of working in a machine shop, though he mostly supervised and trained new hires these days, as he winded down toward retirement. He had Melanie’s same blue eyes and light brown hair, inclined to curl like hers though he kept it quite short, and his broad, florid face was bearded. He was typically of good humor and mild mannered, though he had little patience for people being stupid. He didn’t quite understand his de facto sons-in-law, though he held them in genuine affection. 

“Oh, he stayed out to catch up with his friend,” Sam said. “But we decided to bail and get Princess Charlotte here to bed.” 

“Daaaaddy, I’m JASMINE,” she protested with an enormous eyeroll. Ed chuckled, swinging the child up into his arms. 

“Well you’re clearly the best princess,” Sam said placatingly. 

“A princess who needs to get into pj’s and teeth brushed,” Melanie added. 

“Oooh, I’ve got stuff for you,” Kathy said, climbing out of her recliner. “New toothbrush and new nightdress. Let me go get this girl ready for bed.” She led Charlotte up the stairs, the two chattering excitedly. 

Ed walked out to the kitchen, trailed by Sam and Melanie, and went over to the fridge. “So how did the gutters go this morning? You know, your mom never told me that was why you were coming out. Not that I’m not glad to see you all, but I could have done that and saved you a hell of a drive, Melly.” He pulled out bottles of beer and held them out to the two. Sam accepted one but Melanie held up her palm in refusal. Instead, she walked to the pantry and poked around the shelves until she found a can of grape soda. 

“Thought you hated that stuff,” Ed said. 

“Oh… you know… when you’re gone from home and you can’t get it for a while…” she replied evasively. “Yeah, the gutters. It went okay. We got it done. I didn’t want to trouble you, Dad. You work too hard as it is.” She opened the fridge and stared into it. “Did you guys have dinner yet?” 

“No, I just got home a little before you guys did. We were maybe going to make sandwiches. Figured you’d already eaten.” He settled into a chair with his beer. 

“We did-“ Sam began. 

“Let’s order pizza. I’m starving,” Melanie said. 

“But you-“ Sam started to protest. 

“Don’t care. Want pizza,” she replied, poking him in the side. 

“The pizza wasn’t very good at the mini golf place,” Sam conceded. 

They had placed the order and were waiting for delivery when Kathy came back downstairs. Ed had produced a deck of playing cards and the three of them were playing a lively round of gin rummy, with the kitchen radio tuned to the local classic rock station. Kathy sunk down in a chair at the other side of the table. 

“This is so cozy,” she said brightly, glancing around the four occupants of the table pointedly. “Deal me in the next round?” 

“Sure,” Sam said with a tight smile, shuffling the cards. 

The pizzas arrived soon after and Melanie ate two slices with gusto. Sam politely nibbled on a slice. Kathy eyed her daughter in dismay when she reached for a third. 

“Your figure, Melly,” she protested, frowning. 

“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” Sam said, winking across the table at Melanie. She blushed and smiled gratefully at him. 

They played a few more rounds, but as the night grew later Ed and Kathy yawned more and more frequently, and Melanie suggested they call it a night. 

“Gabe have a key?” Ed asked, peering out the back door, concern on his face. “Or should we leave the back unlocked?” 

“He has my key,” Melanie assured her father. “He’ll be fine.” She shooed her parents toward bed, while she and Sam tidied up the kitchen before turning in themselves. 

In their bedroom, Melanie slipped out of her dress quickly and pulled on a nightshirt, an old comfy favorite with monkeys and bananas printed on it. She started to crawl into the bed and noticed Sam still standing there in the middle of the room, looking uncertain. 

“Come cuddle with me,” she said. “There’s tons of room.” 

He laughed. “Not really, but I will anyway.” He had stripped down to boxers and slid under the blankets next to her. “We’re going to have to get real close,” he murmured in her ear. 

“Oh, what a shame,” she sighed, wiggling against him as he started kissing her neck, rethinking how tired she really was and remembering his earlier promise. His hands slid under the hem of her nightshirt, stroking up her thigh to her hip, around her ass, up to her lower back, every touch making her skin feel like fire. 

“I love touching you,” he whispered. “Your skin is so soft. Let me make you feel good, Mel. You were so good to me before,” His voice was husky and sexy and every word sent more and more heat to her core. 

Sam slid downward, moving to kneel on the floor at the side of the bed and lean over her, his lips drifting down her abdomen in quick hot little kisses. Melanie twirled her fingers in his hair encouragingly as he reached the waistband of her panties and teased his tongue underneath them and looked up at her, his large hazel eyes pleading. 

“Okay,” she whispered raggedly. “Just… gently.” 

“I’ll just use my mouth,” he promised, and he bit the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, slowly inching them halfway down her thighs before she grabbed them impatiently and slid them the rest of the way off. Sam gripped her knees and pressed her legs up and apart, then licked a long stripe down the inside of her thigh. She shuddered as he shifted over to her wet slit and his tongue poked in, teasingly, parting her with a few broad, flat licks. His tongue slid up and down, working the slickness from her hole up around, drawing her lips farther apart with each stroke until she was pressing the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle a moan. Sam traced swirling patterns around her sex, teasing around her clit with barely-there touches before moving on elsewhere. He kept this up until Melanie started to tangle a hand in his hair, tugging him closer, her hips jerking her against him. Sam made a little chuckle in the back of his throat and flicked his tongue against her clit a little harder. 

“Mmph,” she squeaked, her face muted against the crook of her elbow. “Sam, please,” she whispered. “ _Please_.” 

The begging stirred something in Sam, and he dove forward to suck at the little nub fervently, giving her the stimulation that she craved. Melanie gasped in relief as his tongue swirled rapidly, caressing her exactly as she needed it. Her fingers tugged at his hair and she writhed beneath him. One leg wrapped over his shoulder, her toes digging into the skin of his back. The other leg, Sam still held pressed up, his fingers stroking up and down her thigh. Her orgasm rocked through her in gentle waves and quiet little whimpers, and Melanie laid back against the pillow panting afterwards. Sam crawled back up on the bed, curling up next to her. 

“That was hot,” said a familiar voice from behind them. 

Sam nuzzled his face into Melanie’s neck. “How long have you been back for?” he asked. 

“Long enough for most of the show, I think,” Gabriel said appreciatively, standing at the foot of the bed and stripping his clothes off. 

“So how did it go?” Melanie asked sleepily. 

“Great,” he replied. “I think Father and I have really smoothed things over. Plus, he really kills it at karaoke.” He crept up the bed, in the tiny space between Melanie and the wall, and pressed himself against her body. He kissed her softly, then leaned over further still and kissed Sam, softly at first but with increasing passion. Sam made a tiny whimpering noise in the back of his throat as Gabriel’s hand ghosted across Melanie’s legs to slide up between Sam’s thighs. He sprawled across Melanie, and she shifted and scooted over towards the wall until she traded places with him, sort of, although he was still half on top of her. 

“I’m done, guys,” she announced. “And tired. Maybe take this elsewhere?” She gestured vaguely toward the air mattress. 

“Of course, Sweets,” said Gabriel gently. “You get some sleep.” He patted her hip. 

Once the two had arranged themselves on the air mattress, Gabriel resumed his thorough exploration of Sam’s mouth. His tongue poked past Sam’s lips, tracing across his teeth and meeting Sam’s. Sam’s hands roamed over Gabriel’s chest and down across his belly. He slid a hand around to cup Gabriel’s hip, pulling him closer, just brushing their cocks together. A gasp caught in Sam’s throat and he surged forward, rolling Gabriel onto his back and covering his body with his own. As he did so, the balance of weight on the air mattress shifted dramatically, causing the rolling motion to continue and they rolled off the edge, Gabriel landing on top of Sam. 

“Oof!” Sam grunted. “Dude. Can’t you use your grace to keep that kind of thing from happening?” he whispered irritably. 

“Mel told me not to,” Gabriel whined. “Besides, I wasn’t expecting that.” 

“Mel said you can’t screw with stuff and freak her family out. You’re allowed to use it for sexy reasons. I’m pretty sure. Definitely for keeping me from breaking ribs kind of reasons.” He gyrated his hips a little, bringing his cock in line with Gabriel’s again, his ardor clearly not affected by the fall. “So what do you think, magic up some lube and let me fuck you?” Sam whispered into his ear. 

“Mmm, I kind of like you desperately horny, Sam,” Gabriel replied, grinding against him. “How about the slow, old-fashioned way?” He rolled over, back onto the air mattress, sprawling on his back. “Find some lube and fuck me nice and slow, Samshine.” 

“Aw come on Gabe, I don’t have any….” He sat up and raked his eyes across the archangel, lying there in all his glory. His hair flopped wildly around his face, his cock was rock-hard and leaking drips of precum onto his stomach, and his eyes were bright with the excitement of a challenge. Sam knew this mood all too well; a gauntlet had been thrown down and Gabriel was enjoying making Sam figure this out, and lying there all devastatingly sexy while he did it was just extra incentive. 

Sam glanced over at Melanie, but she had already drifted off to sleep and was snoring quietly. “Uhh, maybe there’s something in Mel’s purse we can use.” He scooted over to rummage through her bag. Among the innumerable contents of Mel’s purse, Sam turned up a tube of lip gloss, a sample of hand cream, and two mayo packets. 

“Take your pick,” Sam said, kissing Gabriel’s knee and dropping the items next to him. “It’s your ass.” He kissed a little further up the inside of Gabriel’s thigh. He licked and sucked another spot, further up still. Sam’s lips trailed further upward, his hands pressing Gabriel’s leg up and outward, spreading him wide open and diving in to lick at his tight hole. 

“S-sam,” Gabriel stuttered. “Quite a workout that tongue is – ohhhh, baby, _yes_ ,” he whispered as Sam poked the tip of said tongue inside. “Mmm, sugar, you can – how about that lotion or whatever?” He fumbled in the sheets and grabbed the bottle, pushing in towards him. “I want to feel your fingers.” 

Sam paused and shifted around, coated his fingers with the lotion, which smelled strongly of gingerbread cookies, and pressed one slowly into Gabriel’s ass. The angel let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes, giving over to the sensation. Sam watched his finger slide in and out, dipping his head to gentle close his mouth around the head of Gabriel’s cock as he inserted a second finger. He lazily bobbed his head down, and up again, achingly slow, while he scissored him open on his skilled fingers. Sam was reminded of the early days of their relationship, the slow and careful worship of this exquisite creature with whom he was suddenly in love. Maybe he hadn’t taken enough time lately to appreciate that the way he used to. He felt Gabriel’s fingers gently touch his face, brushing the hair back from his temple, and he suspected that his thoughts had been heard, and echoed. He glanced up and their eyes met, that gaze enough to make Sam’s heart skip a beat. 

Sam pulled his mouth and his fingers free and sat back on his heels, gazing down at Gabriel. “You ready, Angel?” he asked softly. 

“So ready,” Gabriel answered. Sam leaned over him, slowly, correcting for the lurching of the air mattress, and lined his cock up. “So good, Sam,” Gabriel gasped as Sam inched into him. They tilted from side to side with every movement, but stayed carefully in the center, which seemed to be the trick for staying on. 

“I’ve always wanted to do it in a bouncy castle,” Sam murmured. “I just thought it would be bigger.” 

“Remind me next time,” Gabriel groaned. “Also remind me that my vessel gets seasick and I have to correct for that. It’s distracting.” Sam angled a thrust that hit his prostate perfectly, and Gabriel made a quiet gasp and stopped talking as Sam hit that spot again and again. Sam was starting to feel his orgasm building and he quickened his movements. He reached between them to close his hand, still slick with lotion, around Gabriel’s cock. Sam stroked him in slightly clumsy movements as he reached his own release. “So hot,” Gabriel whispered, watching Sam’s face as he lost himself in ecstasy. Sam’s hand continued jerking him, and to his surprise Gabriel came quite suddenly seconds later, covering his stomach and Sam’s hand with cum. 

Sam pulled out slowly and collapsed onto him, capturing his mouth in a quick, sloppy kiss. “Love you so much, my angel,” he murmured against his lips. 

Gabriel tightened his arms around Sam’s waist. “Love you too, Sammich. Always have.” 

Sam pulled back a little and studied his face in surprise. “Always? Really? That flirting back at the college… were you already in love with me then?” 

Gabriel bowed his head, his lips forming that same shy smile as he relived the memory. “The moment I saw your soul, kiddo. One of the reasons it drove me so crazy that I couldn’t save you from…” he trailed off somberly. 

“Shhh,” Sam said, kissing his nose. “Well, I kinda wanted to tap this back then, for sure, but it was a long, long time before I fell in love with you.” 

“Mmm. I remember,” Gabriel said with a note of amusement. “Must be so weird not to be able to see souls. Having to… get to know people.” 

“Speaking of your vast and remarkable celestial superiority, how about a little cleanup?” Sam eyed him pleadingly. Gabriel managed to look incredibly put upon while snapping his fingers and disappearing the mess. 

“Should we go cuddle up with Mel again?” Gabriel looked thoughtful for a moment. “I just really need to be next to her,” he said at last. 

“Yeah, I get that,” Sam said. “But we’d better not wake her.” 

Gabriel snapped his fingers again and they were nestled snugly in the bed on either side of Melanie’s sleeping form. Sam drifted off to sleep rather quickly, an arm and a leg thrown across both of his lovers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea where this fic is going, tbh. Consequences of starting to publish a half-formed idea! I'm going to try to draw it to some sort of logical conclusion, wrap up the proverbial loose ends, and then go do a big re-write, methinks. And probably check back in with Dean, Cas, and Bailey soon. Thoughts?


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Destiel morning smut, then some domesticity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually write Destiel smut but I did my first one-shot recently so maybe I'm feeling a little more confident with it. Hope you enjoy.

Dean woke up to the feeling of Castiel snuggled up behind him, nosing into his hair, an arm wrapped firmly around his body. The sheets were tangled hopelessly around both their legs, but the room was warm and the angel nestled into him was warmer still. Dean made a contented little sigh and reached behind himself to pat awkwardly at Castiel’s hip. 

His eyes fell on the alarm clock’s hazy red digits. 7:18. Still early. They had all been up quite late the night before. Dean had discovered that Bailey was a big fan of 2 a.m. pizza rolls and Mario Kart. He’d also learned that the kid was much better at Mario Kart than he was. In fact, he was pretty sure red turtle shells had figured in his nightmares somewhere, before Cas had banished them. 

Cas. Dean wiggled deeper into Cas’s embrace, tilting his head just so, prompting the angel to kiss his neck. It needed to be that kind of morning. The hand on his chest started roaming, slipping beneath his tshirt, fingertips tracing his skin, up to the hollow of his throat, down his chest, pausing a few seconds to tease a nipple, then down his stomach. Cas’s teeth nipped at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, and Dean moaned and arched back against him as those roaming fingers found their way beneath the waistband of his shorts to his cock, ever so briefly, then moved on to his thigh. “Cas,” Dean moaned brokenly. “Baby. Please.” 

Castiel sucked a bruise into his neck. “Please what, Dean?” he growled, pressing his rigid cock against Dean’s ass. His fingers stroked up and down Dean’s thigh, his fingernails scratching ever so slightly. 

“Anything,” Dean replied, his cock twitching. He shifted around to lie on his back and pull Cas into a rough kiss, all clashing teeth and bitten lips and hot tongues. Dean’s hands roamed freely down Cas’s body, and Castiel surged forward, stretching his body across Dean’s. The minimal sleep clothing that they wore suddenly seemed like a nuisance, and they began swiftly undressing each other. 

They crashed back into each other with renewed heat. Dean let out a breath as Castiel moved down his body, kissing soft, wet kisses into his chest and stomach on his way toward his target. He knelt on the bed between Dean’s spread legs, his palms stroking Dean’s thighs softly, admiring him for a moment before leaning forward and grabbing his cock and licking him from base to tip. “Ohhh fuck,” Dean whimpered. Satisfied with this reaction, Castiel repeated the action a few times, then blew cool breath across Dean’s saliva-slicked dick. Dean vocalized his approval wordlessly, and Castiel took him into his mouth next. 

“Ohhh, Cas, _baby_ ” Dean breathed. Then, “Come here Angel. I want you in my mouth. At the same time.” 

Castiel looked up at him puzzled for a moment, and those blue eyes, that trademark Castiel quizzical stare, almost undid him as much as the tongue flicking at the head of his cock. But Cas pulled his mouth free. “Ahh,” he said at last. “If you like, Dean.” He inched around and let Dean’s hands guide him to hover over him, then Dean pulled him in close and swallowed him down without further ado. Castiel licked Dean’s cock slowly, gently sucking the tip into his mouth and swirling his tongue around and around again. He was finding it somewhat more difficult to concentrate while upside down and while Dean was vigorously sucking his dick. Dean was making the most delicious noises around him, and that was very distracting as well. He moved his arm until he was able to reach between Dean’s legs and cup his balls, squeezing and caressing them ever so gently. Dean moaned in delight at that, and Cas whimpered as the vibration shivered through his cock. He sought to make Dean moan again, this time tracing his fingertip behind Dean’s balls and across his ass. Ahh yes, that was it. Dean was making desperate little sounds now and sucking him harder, grabbing his ass to pull him in, and rocking his hips upward toward Cas’s willing mouth. Cas flicked his tongue around the head as his fingers ghosted gently around Dean’s ass. A swirling motion here, a swirling motion there, and soon Dean was cumming in his mouth, his fingernails digging into the flesh of Cas’s round buttocks, and that little spark of pain and the mouthful of salty cum was enough to tip Cas over the edge and he groaned as he spilled his load into Dean’s mouth. 

Dean rolled him off rather unceremoniously as soon as they both were done and rested a cheek on his thigh, gasping for breath. 

“Are you alright?” Castiel asked, sitting up and leaning over him. 

“I’m… holy crap, yes,” Dean sputtered out. “That was frigging amazing.” He threw a trembly arm across Cas’s thighs. “You are the best, baby.” 

Castiel rearranged himself to lie down beside Dean, pulling him into his arms. “Are you cold? You’re shaking.” 

“No it’s just… so intense. Don’t think I’ve ever cum so hard. I need a minute.” He snuggled against Cas’s chest and let him pull the blanket around them. “Love you so much, Angel,” he murmured. 

“And I love you, Human,” Castiel replied. Dean grinned, unseen against his chest. He’d long ago given up trying to correct that phrasing. Cas was stroking fingers through his hair, and Dean relaxed into the warmth and comfort of him. 

When Dean awoke the second time that morning, his stomach was rumbling with hunger and the clock now read 9:43. “Crap. We probably should have gotten up and fed the kid by now.” He pulled himself out of the bed and put his clothes on, then turned to brush his teeth and wash his face in the little sink. 

“I’m sure Bailey will get food if they’re hungry,” Castiel said, putting his clothes on methodically, then meticulously making the bed, awaiting his turn at the sink. Dean was peering at his face in the mirror, pulling his lips open comically, trying to look in the back of his own mouth. 

“Ayyyhh ahhh uhhh ooohaaaayyy,” he said, his wide green eyes meeting Castiel’s in the mirror. The angel wrinkled up his face in confusion. “I have a toothache,” Dean repeated after pulling his fingers out of his mouth. Cas stepped closer and cupped Dean’s cheek in his hand. A surge of grace and his tooth was pain-free. “You had a small cavity forming in your bottom molar. You should probably mind your sugar intake,” he added chidingly as he resumed tying his tie. 

Dean snickered as he walked out of the bedroom door. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen. You can either keep playing magic angel dentist or learn to live with a toothless old man.” He headed to the kitchen, determined to make some sort of sugary breakfast monstrosity to thumb his nose at the mortality of his teeth. And maybe a little bit to make sure Cas knew that he had no intention of following such a ridiculous order. 

When he got to the kitchen, he found Bailey already pouring pancakes onto the griddle and fresh coffee in the pot. They appeared to be trying out shaped pancakes, since not a single pancake was actually round. There were a series of cursive B’s on the griddle, and the already finished ones on the platter seemed to be hearts, stars, and puppies, or possibly bunnies. 

“What, no sharkcakes?” Dean asked in amusement, pouring a cup of coffee. 

“They’d just eat the bunnies and that would be sad,” Bailey replied. “Good morning. Hope the coffee’s okay. I don’t know how to measure coffee without the little cups so I just dumped some in.” 

“Yeah, it’s great,” Dean said, sipping at the slightly too strong brew. Bailey was clad in his apron and what looked like one of Sam’s tshirts over orange striped leggings and fuzzy pink slippers. They had a baseball cap on their head with a beer company logo on it. The stool was pulled up close to the stove and they were kneeling on it to achieve perfect cooking height. Dean watched the kid in amusement. 

“Hey, so what are we doing today?” Dean asked as he fixed himself a plate. “We finished the cat contraption. Should we start another project? Could take apart-“ 

“We have a case,” Castiel interrupted, walking into the kitchen with Dean’s laptop balanced on his forearm. “I’m sorry Bailey; we’ll have to table any further projects.” 

“What case?” Dean asked before shoveling syrup-drenched pancake into his mouth. 

“I received an email from an etymologist at the University of Minnesota bee lab. I had been trying to arrange a visit, but she has had to cancel because her entire staff has gone missing. One at a time, over the last few weeks, it seems. There is a police investigation into the matter, but the university community is very distraught. Apparently it ties into an old haunting story of the woods where the hives were located-“ 

Dean chewed his pancake and swallowed. “Yeah, Cas, definitely sounds like a case. Hey, Kid… you okay here for a few days?” 

Bailey shrugged. “Guess I have to be. I’ll just stay here and… babysit the cat.” 

“Could be worse. You could be stuck with a dorky little brother in a motel that doesn’t even have HBO,” Dean said. Bailey squinted at him. “I’ll tell you the stories someday. Anyway. There’s plenty of food, and Sam and company should be back within like a couple days. I should call them and check on that. Whaddaya say Cas, head out after breakfast?” Dean speared another forkful of pancake and crammed it in his mouth. 

“I’ll go pack,” Castiel replied. “Are you certain you’ll be fine, Bailey? Perhaps I should just go alone-“ 

“No!” Dean exclaimed. 

“Dean, you’ve hunted alone,” Castiel replied. “Plenty of times.” 

“I’m a hunter! I’ve been a hunter since I was Bailey’s age!” Dean gestured with his fork, agitated. 

“I’m an Angel of the Lord and I’ve been an Angel of the Lord since before humanity evolved!” Castiel returned, scowling at Dean. 

“That ain’t the same as hunting,” Dean grumbled peevishly. “Look, we’ve all been caught in shitty situations when we’ve tried to go it alone. Me included. It’s not… preferable. Bailey’s no dummy. Look at these pancakes! And they’ll be in a well-stocked and fully protected bunker, for chrissakes. Cut the kid some slack.” He caught Bailey’s eyes, full of surprise and admiration. 

“Fine,” Castiel said icily, although his tone indicated that it was not exactly fine. He walked out of the room, saying “I’ll pack for us both,” over his shoulder. 

“Anything special I should know?” Bailey asked. “What do I do if there’s a problem?” 

“You can call any of us for whatever, and if it’s really urgent or whatever, pray.” 

Bailey scrunched up their face in disgust. “Uhh. That’s lame. I don’t… I don’t even think there is a God.” 

“Neither do I,” Dean said with a snort. “You pray to Cas, or you pray to Gabriel. It’s part of the angel magic deal. They hear you. Specify where and what’s wrong. And don’t pray any open-ended prayers that are not addressed to either of those two. You never know who might be listening.” 

Bailey shrugged. “Um, okay. Well like you said… it’s really safe in here, right? So I shouldn’t even have an emergency?” 

“That’s the plan,” Dean said, slugging the last of his coffee while pulling out his phone and dialing Sam’s number. 

“Dean,” Sam said, his voice surprised. There seemed to be a lot of background noise. He was somewhere loud. 

“Sammy. What’s shakin’? Enjoying your visit with the inlaws?” 

“What? Oh, yeah, sure. It’s um. It’s been interesting. How are you? You and Cas…?” 

“We’re okay. And um. Bailey, Bailey wants to say hi to Charlotte.” 

He could hear the smile in Sam’s voice. “That’s great. I’ll let her know.” 

“Hey, so, Sammy. Cas and me have a case. We’re heading out soon. Just wanted to make sure you guys will be home soon, in case we’re gone for a bit. Bailey’s gonna hold down the fort for a few.” Dean winked at them. 

“Yeah, I think we’ll be home by Saturday. Mel’s doing her research today and I guess we’ll pack up tomorrow.” 

“You’re not nerding out with her at the library?” 

“No. No, I’m at the children’s museum,” Sam said with a sigh. “Watching Gabriel and Charlotte play with the Van der Graaf generator.” 

“Yeah? I didn’t even know they were into prog rock.” 

Sam sighed. “Anyway. Let me know how the hunt goes, okay?” 

“Will do.” 

Castiel soon emerged with packed duffel bags, and they headed out. “We’ll call you tonight to check in,” he said to Bailey as he and Dean walked out the door. 

“Wait!” Bailey said, their hazel eyes suddenly huge and sad. “Don’t I get hugs?” Dean and Castiel looked at each other, shrugging. 

“Sure,” Dean said, bending down to awkwardly put his arms around Bailey and pat them on the back. Bailey squeezed their arms around him briefly before letting him go. Castiel scooped the child into a hug next, lifting them off the ground in a tight embrace. Dean watched Cas’s face, the wide grin and the crinkles around his eyes, and he smiled too. “Time to go, Huggy Bear,” he said fondly as Cas set the kid down. 

Bailey sunk into the red leather chair as the door clanged shut behind them, and Pumpkin jumped into their lap. “Well, I guess it’s just us now, Fuzzball,” they said, scritching the cat on the head. 


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHAHA I BET YOU THOUGHT I GAVE UP. Nope. Just got home from Nashcon a few days ago with renewed writing fervor; lets see how far I get.

“Hey, aren’t you going to the archives today?” Sam murmured, nudging her gently. The daylight was splayed across the bed from the nearby window. Melanie yawned and shifted, and soon realized that the heavy weight across her legs that she had thought was the comforter was actually Gabriel. 

“I had forgotten all about that,” she admitted sheepishly. “Gabriel, why are you lying across me?” 

“Because you’re comfy and you smell good?” he replied, propping himself up to peer at her. “And I missed you. And this bed is abominably small.” 

Melanie sighed and contented herself with stretching her arms. “I do have to pee, though.” 

“No you don’t,” he replied, touching two fingers low on her abdomen. 

“Ugh, that is so disconcerting,” she grumbled. “Thanks though. I think.” 

“Consider yourself lucky. I’ve got his bony knees digging into the backs of my thighs,” Sam said peevishly. 

“Whiny humans.” Gabriel stood up and stretched. “I’m going off in search of breakfast, and to see what our girl is up to. Laters.” 

“We should get up, too,” Sam pointed out, poking at his phone. “It’s almost 9.” 

They got out of bed and dressed quickly. When they got downstairs, Gabriel was standing in front of the waffle maker, a stack of fresh waffles slowly accumulating on a plate. There was a fruit salad already on the table, and a pot of coffee. Charlotte was at the table in a new striped dress and heart-printed tights, kneeling on a chair picking the strawberries out of the salad, and ignoring her plate and the half-eaten waffle and enormous puddle of syrup it contained. “Yum,” she said, meeting Sam’s eye with a twinkle. 

“You have your Uncle Dean’s table manners, Pipsqueak,” he commented, sitting next to her. Charlotte giggled as he swooped her into his arms and kissed her cheeks, sticky strawberry juice and all. “Goes with the freckles, I guess.” 

“Daddy,” she sighed contentedly, nuzzling into his shoulder, strawberries forgotten. 

Melanie speared a waffle onto her plate and reached up to give Gabriel a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth. “You know, I had a dream that you were making gingerbread cookies for breakfast,” she said. Gabriel’s face froze and he overpoured the waffle batter, making a huge puddle on the counter. Sam choked on a swallow of coffee. Neither would meet her eyes. Melanie shook her head and drenched her waffles in butter and molasses. She sat down across from Sam and Charlotte. 

“Grandma not up yet?” Melanie asked. 

“She was but then she left. Said she had errands, since she don’t hafta make breakfast now,” Charlotte replied. Melanie glanced at Gabriel’s back. He made a little shrugging motion. Melanie rubbed her temple. 

“I wish she’d get over it,” she muttered under her breath. 

“No skin off my nose,” Gabriel said mildly. “Don’t sweat it, Sugar.” If anything, the archangel was amused by Melanie’s mother’s distaste for him. 

“Well _my_ nose is perpetually skinned,” she grouched. “That and a million other things.” 

“That, that does get me,” he admitted. 

“Your nose looks perfect, Mommy,” Charlotte said, frowning. “Does it hurt?” 

“No, no,” Melanie sighed, waving her hand. She ate slowly, pausing to give Gabriel a sticky kiss when he came to sit down beside her. 

“I’m going to need your help with something, I think,” she said at last. “Hey Lottie, you haven’t been on your bike since we’ve been here. You should go get it out of the garage and take a spin.” Charlotte climbed down eagerly and burst out the back door in a flurry, having been reminded of the purple and white bicycle with the streamers and clackers and really loud horn that her grandparents had gotten her last Christmas. 

“What’s wrong, Sugar?” Gabriel asked when the coast was clear. 

“How am I supposed to tell people that I’m pregnant when that’s supposed to be technically very impossible?” She folded her hands low on her belly. 

“Oooh,” he said, scrunching his face up. “Hadn’t thought about that. I guess… are you asking me to retcon your parents? You don’t usually like me to do anything…” 

“It’s not like we have a better option,” she said miserably. “They need to just forget that that ever happened to me.” Melanie leaned forward, her arms across the table, and dropped her head onto them. Gabriel placed a hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles there. 

“I’ll do it. And I promise I won’t do anything else while I’m in there. I’ll tread as lightly as I can.” 

“Thank you,” she said, muffled into her forearms. 

Gabriel snapped his fingers and disappeared from the kitchen. He easily found Ed Weiss sitting at his desk, working on employee paperwork and munching on peanut M&M’s from a bowl. A small radio on a nearby shelf played a Skynyrd song tinnily. The invisible archangel crouched next to Ed, touched two fingers to his temple, and quickly rewired the man’s memories of his granddaughter’s birth. Now he would remember that Melanie had had a rough delivery and long recovery, but eventually was good as new. 

Kathy proved to be harder to find. Gabriel flitted around the town. He knew that human errands typically involved things like going to the bank and the post office, so he stopped by those places first. The postal workers seemed to be kind of busy and overworked, and with a soft spot for them as their patron, Gabriel quietly gifted them with an enormous cookie tray and a pile of lottery scratch tickets on the breakroom table, with some sort of note about winning a radio station contest. 

He moved on next to the grocery store. Finding no sign of the woman there, he was just about to give up when he spotted her car parked in front of a real estate office. He slipped inside. Kathy was seated on the sofa there, in the comfortable little area where customers would sit and peruse printouts of property listings. She had a takeout cup of tea in her hand and slouched comfortably in the seat. The real estate agent, a middle-aged woman with long silver hair, was seated in the chair next to her, and the place was otherwise empty. 

“…I just think she’s been so odd since she took up with them. I mean, I always kind of hoped the babydaddy would come back in once they’d grown up a little, but I never thought he’d bring his… whatever.” Kathy made a face and sipped at her tea. “And poor Charlotte, she’s never going to know what’s normal and what’s not.” 

Gabriel groaned inwardly and facepalmed. Jeez, why couldn’t he find her quietly doing grocery shopping? 

“I blame the TV shows today. You know, the kids see these celebrities doing all this weird stuff. You’ve got the MTV and the reality ones, and they all want to live exciting lives like that,” the other woman said, brushing at her skirt. “Melly’s always been one for adventure; didn’t she run off on that road trip with that… exterminator guy? In the middle of college?” 

“Don’t remind me,” Kathy said sourly. “Well at least that one didn’t leave her with a baby.” 

“Or come back with a boyfriend,” added her friend, nodding. 

“And it wouldn’t be so bad if he were a decent guy, but he doesn’t even have a job! I guess he used to be a janitor but he couldn’t even manage that. What kind of loser can’t even keep a job pushing a broom!” Kathy exclaimed. Her friend made a sympathetic noise. “You should have seen him last night, out half the night with some old friends, probably losers like himself, while Sam and Melanie came home to get their daughter to bed and spent a nice evening with us. If you ask me, he just latched onto a handsome young man with brains and prospects years ago and just weaseled his way in there. But then again, if my idiot daughter had just called the boy after their fling turned into parenthood… well, maybe it would have worked out differently. Ugh, I don’t know, Liz. I guess they’ll go home tomorrow and I can stop thinking about it.” Kathy frowned into her cup. “Let’s go grab brunch. They should be out by the time I get back.” 

Liz stepped away to gather her keys and purse from behind the desk, and Gabriel sunk onto the sofa next to Kathy. “Oh, lady, this is soooo going to hurt you more than it hurts me,” he said acidly as he touched his fingers to her temple. No delicate rummaging this time, he shoved his way into her memories, quickly overwrote the necessary components, and drew back out again before he was tempted to do more. 

Kathy cried out suddenly, pressing her hands to her temples. 

“What is it?” Liz asked, frowning. 

“Migraine, I think. No warning this time.” Sweat beaded on her forehead and her skin was pale. 

“Did you get fake sweetener in the tea? That stuff is terrible for you. Lie down; I’ll get you an ice pack.” Gabriel jumped out of the way quickly as Kathy laid down on the sofa. “Why don’t I order us in Chinese?” 

“Just soup,” Kathy said miserably. 

Gabriel pulled himself out of there and reappeared in the kitchen. Everything had been tidied up and Melanie was brushing Charlotte’s hair. “Ready for the science center?” she asked Gabriel over her shoulder. 

“Yep. Everything’s all set,” he replied, meeting her eye and winking. 

Sam drove them first to the library where Melanie used to work. “Have fun, dearies,” she said as she scampered off eagerly to visit with her friends and gather some more details for her research project. Sam, Gabriel, and Charlotte continued on to the science center. There were a few elementary school groups on tours, but it was mostly empty on a weekday, so they were able to explore all the exhibits in depth. Sam was exhausted by the time they finished and headed out to pick up Melanie. She slid into the back seat, with an armload of papers and her face flushed with excitement. 

“Success?” Sam asked, his eyes sliding over her fondly. 

“Yes!” she said gleefully, patting the stack of papers on her lap. “I knew I’d find more here. I think I’ll be ready to publish in a few weeks. It’s perfect.” They stopped in a nearby diner for a late lunch, then went to a park that had been a frequent stop when Charlotte and Melanie were on their own. The sun was beginning to set when they loaded into the van and drove back to the Weiss home. Ed’s truck was already in the driveway, and they found Kathy putting the finishing touches on a pot roast when they came inside. Charlotte had fallen asleep on the drive, exhausted from the park, and Gabriel carried her straight into the living room and laid her on the couch. He sat by her feet and took off her sneakers, avoiding returning to the kitchen. Sam had followed him and and he sat nearby, poking at his phone screen. 

Melanie sat on the stool at the kitchen counter, next to her father. “We need to head out in the morning,” Melanie said. “Something’s come up. We should get back.” 

“Well it was nice to see you dear, even if it was a few days,” Kathy said, whisking a pot of gravy. “You’ll bring Charlotte out again sometime during the school break?” 

“Sure, sure,” Melanie said. “But um. There’s also something that I wanted to tell you before we head home.” She picked nervously at the magazine in front of her. “We. Um. We’re going to have another baby.” 

The reaction was immediate. Kathy dropped the whisk into the pot of gravy and turned to stare at her daughter in shock. Ed let out a joyful whoop. 

“Shh Daddy, we’re not telling Lottie yet. It’s only a few months so I think we’ll wait a bit to tell her.” She stared at Kathy nervously. 

“Well.” Kathy said at last, her tone icy. “Do you at least know which-“ 

“Oh, how did I know you were going to go there,” Melanie said bitterly. “Why does that even matter? We’re all-“ 

“Oh please Melly. That is not how that works,” Kathy snapped, her mouth a thin tight line of annoyance. She picked the whisk out and poured the gravy into a gravy boat, stalking over toward the dinner table with it. Ed looked helplessly between his wife and his daughter. Kathy said nothing else as she marched back and forth, setting the table for dinner. Ed put a hand on Melanie’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. 

“It’ll be fine,” he said without conviction. 

Dinner was quiet and no one ate much. Charlotte, bored and still tired, resorted to creating mashed potato sculptures. No one noticed. Kathy went downstairs to the rec room immediately after dinner. Melanie started to clean up the table, but Ed waved her away and started on the task. 

"Daddy, I’m not that fragile,” she said with a laugh. “Let me at least load the dishwasher for you.” 

“Is there dessert?” Charlotte called. 

“I’ll find you something, Princess,” Ed replied, pulling a box of donuts out of the breadbox and carrying it to the table. “How’s this?” 

“Yay!” she replied, snatching a donut and passing the box to Gabriel. “Shprinkles for you,” she said with her mouth full. 

“Aww, thanks kiddo,” he said, plucking the last sprinkled donut out of the box. 

“She told them, didn’t she?” Sam said quietly. 

“Yeppers,” Gabriel confirmed. “Hence the sudden ice storm.” 

Charlotte turned to look out the window, then squinted at the angel. “Silly Gabey.” 

“That’s me,” he agreed, booping her on the nose. Charlotte giggled and snuggled into his side. 

In the kitchen, Ed was putting leftover food into containers. “They’re both good men and good dads,” he said quietly to Melanie. “You know that. Either way, doesn’t matter.” He ruffled her hair. 

“Mmm,” said Melanie. “Not that any of that matters to her.” 

“She’ll get used to it,” Ed said. “She’s gotta argue about everything first. Then she just learns to live with it.” 

After the table was clear, Charlotte dragged various games out of the game cabinet and they played until she was too sleepy to continue. Kathy had come back upstairs, but avoided joining them at the games. She walked up with Charlotte when Melanie said that it was bedtime, and tucked her in, but never reappeared downstairs. 

“Take care of yourself, Melly,” said Ed as he went up to bed shortly after them. He kissed her on the top of the head, then shook Gabriel’s, then Sam’s hands. “You boys, too,” he added. “Drive safely.” 

When they got up in the morning, Kathy was scrambling eggs for Charlotte. “Oh, hey, I made scones,” she said. “You like scones, don’t you? Blueberry.” She nudged the plate toward Sam, who was pouring a cup of coffee. 

“Oh. Sure,” he said nervously, grabbing one. Melanie held out an empty cup and he poured for her as well. 

“You shouldn’t drink that,” Kathy chided. Melanie rolled her eyes as she turned toward the fridge to find the creamer. She took her coffee and sat down at the far end of the table. Sam slathered a scone with butter and brought it to her. 

Gabriel sidled up to the counter next, close to Kathy, and grabbed two scones off the plate. “Thanks, Mom,” he said, flashing her a grin. “These are my favorite.” Sam and Melanie exchanged a look of nervousness. 

Kathy merely nodded tight-lipped at him as she turned to plate Charlotte’s eggs and serve them to her. When she sat down across from Charlotte with her coffee, Gabriel sat next to her and craned his neck over to read her newspaper along with her, pointing at various articles and commenting on them. Kathy stared at him in bewilderment, but he continued to be warm and affable. Kathy made a break from the table as soon as possible, excusing herself to go switch the laundry. Gabriel made a move to go help her, but Sam stopped him, grabbing at his shoulder. 

“What are you doing?” he asked once she’d gone downstairs. 

“Bonding with the fam?” Gabriel said. 

“You’re antagonizing,” Sam replied. 

Gabriel shrugged. “Maaaaybe?” Sam sighed and rubbed his temples. 

“You know… maybe if you stopped trying to reinforce her negative perceptions of you…” Melanie said. “You’ve never really given her a reason to like you.” 

“Whaaaat? I’m charming and loveable. I’m awesome. Why wouldn’t…?” he trailed off as Kathy’s footsteps came up the stairs. “Well, I’m going to load our bags into the car. Lots of driving to do.” He exited the room just after Kathy came in. She passed him with a wary look, but he just nodded and continued toward the stairs. 

Half an hour later they were packed and ready to leave. Charlotte gave Kathy one last slobbery kiss on her cheek and fastened herself into her seat. Kathy turned to Melanie and extended her arms. 

“Take care, sweetheart,” she said. Melanie stared for a moment, then hugged her. 

“I will,” she promised. “I’ll call you soon.” 

Melanie watched out the window as Sam guided the minivan down the winding country roads, studying the fields and trees until they gave way to highway and concrete. 


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last chapter was too long, so this one is too short. ;) Just a little feathery, cuddly Gabe and Mel interlude.

They arrived at the bunker in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Melanie slept for much of the drive, letting Sam do the driving while Gabriel kept him entertained. They had considered stopping for the night, but Melanie didn’t want to leave Bailey alone longer than was necessary and insisted that they push on. Sam carried the sleeping Charlotte in, and Gabriel scooped Melanie into his arms, prepared to do the same. 

“I’m awake, you know,” she said fondly, kissing his nose. “I can walk.” She yawned as he set her down. 

They wandered around the bunker checking on things. The kitchen was mostly tidy, cereal bowls stacked in the sink and a few unidentified spills around the stove. Pumpkin appeared to curl around Melanie’s ankles as she walked, but she found his dishes to be full, so clearly he had just missed her. In the war room, she found the new cat entertainment complex. It stood about four feet high, a number of platforms, posts, and tubes nailed together and covered with carpet. Skinny posts stuck out from the sides at various levels. One had a stuffed mouse dangling from a string, another with a jingly ball, and another with a bundle of black and gold feathers. Melanie stooped to examine it, the gold catching a twinkle of light from the hallway. She ran a fingertip over the feathers. Warm, soft, tingly; they pulsed as though alive. 

After peeking in the bedroom that Bailey was occupying and verifying that the child was safely asleep there, Melanie wandered to her own room, yawning all the way. Maybe she should have let Gabriel carry her in. Sam was already asleep on the far side of the bed, Gabriel in the middle reading a magazine. “Honey, what color are Cas’s wings?” she asked as she crawled into bed, tucking her cold toes in next to Gabriel’s. Gabriel’s toes were always warm. 

“Not as sexy as mine,” he replied, spooning up behind her. 

“No, seriously. Are they black?” 

“Yeeeessss,” he said slowly. “Why?” 

“I’ll show you tomorrow,” she replied. “I think you guys have been shedding feathers.” 

Gabriel was silent for a few moments, nuzzling into her hair. At last he took a deep breath. “They don’t… weird you out?” 

“Your wings?” She shifted around to lie on her back, still snuggly in his arms. “No, not at all. Actually, I really like them.” She stroked his forearm soothingly. “Why did you think I would be weirded out?” 

“They’re quite the obvious reminder that I’m not human.” 

“Why would I need a reminder?” 

“Sometimes I wonder if you forget. Let yourself push it out of your mind, you know?” 

“Why would I want to do that? Gabriel. Gabe, sweetie.” Melanie nudged him onto his back next to Sam, who was clutching his pillow and snoring, and leaned over him, one hand cupping his cheek. “My beloved, I know what you are and I love you for everything about you. I don’t want to pretend that you’re just some guy. But I also know that you’re… a bit like us, moreso than most of your family I suppose.” She leaned down just enough to brush her nose against his. “I love _you_. Wings, halo, tricks, snarkiness, insecurity, vengefulness, mercy, compassion, the whole deal.” She paused thoughtfully. “Do you actually have a halo? Is that a real thing or is it just a Beyonce song?” 

Gabriel laughed hard enough that Sam’s gentle snoring paused for a second. “I do. I’ll show you some other time. Too much excitement for one day. You need sleep.” Melanie relaxed onto his body and let him cuddle her close against his chest, and she drifted off to sleep like that, blanketed with the barely perceptible tingle of feathers against her skin. 


	28. Chapter 28

Melanie woke up the next morning surprisingly refreshed. She chalked it up to the relief of being in her own bed, and the comfort of being snuggled up next to a very cuddly Gabriel, and the long limbs of Sam wrapped around both of them. She spent a moment blissfully enjoying the feeling before deciding to extract herself and slip out of the bed and toward the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, and she settled on pancakes and went to work, sipping on ice water as she measured and mixed in the quiet hum of the sleeping bunker. 

“Hey there, Bailey,” Melanie said as the kid walked into the room yawning. They were wearing ostrich-print pajamas and panda slippers, and had pillow creases on one cheek. Melanie continued spooning pancake batter onto the griddle and dotting each circle with chocolate chips. “How's it going? Do you like chocolate chip pancakes?” 

“Of course,” Bailey replied enthusiastically, leaning against the counter to watch. “Hey, where's Charlotte? I missed her.” 

“Still not up,” said Melanie. “We got in super late. I did notice your cat playground. Pretty cool. I guess you and Pumpkin had a good time?” 

“Yeah, Pumpkin was awesome. Dean helped me a lot with the building. He's pretty good with that stuff.” Bailey admitted, twirling the whisk in the bowl of pancake batter, making patterns on the surface. “Plus we worked on the car and went to the movies and I kicked everyone's ass at video games. So, um. How was your trip? Did you fix the thing you had to fix?” 

“Fi- oh, yes. The rain gutters. Yep, that's all a-ok now,” Melanie said, dumping a pile of chocolate chips on the counter in front of Bailey with a grin. They grinned back and popped a handful of the candies in their mouth and scurried over to the coffeepot. 

“Do you know how to make coffee?” Melanie asked. 

“Oh yeah,” Bailey replied with a handwave. “This one is stupidly easy to use. The one- uh, my dad. He- he was a barista. The one at his work was hard to do but he was teaching me. Lots of steam.” Melanie bit her lip and turned back to the stove, mentally kicking herself for stirring up the kid's grief. Bailey quietly made a fresh pot of coffee. 

Melanie finished the batch of pancakes and tucked the platter of them in the oven, then started a pan of hash browns. As the onions fried and she shredded the potatoes, her stomach clenched and she began to regret that decision. She bolted from the kitchen and to the nearest bathroom to crouch on the floor and throw up. Bailey followed in concern when she ran, but stopped at the bathroom door when they realized what was going on. 

“Eep. I'll go get your dudes,” they said, wrinkling their nose and backing away. They knocked on the bedroom door. Gabriel opened the door, clothes and hair freshly snapped into place. “Hey, your chickie is barfing in the bathroom. I bet she has the stomach flu. I puked all over the playground once when I was little and then I had to drink ginger ale which I super hate. Anyway, I figured maybe she needs your help.” 

Gabriel blinked in surprise, trying to process this speech. “Thanks, kiddo,” he said, patting Bailey on the shoulder and heading down the hallway to the bathroom. Melanie was still slumped on the floor, leaning against the wall near the toilet. She looked up at him when he walked into the room. Gabriel sighed and snapped his fingers, clearing all traces of vomit from the vicinity. He dropped to sit cross-legged on the floor next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. Melanie snuggled against his chest. 

“Your blood sugar is abysmally low,” he scolded, touching his fingertips to her temple. “That should help.” 

“I was cooking breakfast,” she replied sulkily. 

“Not fast enough, apparently. This is why you get sick, Cupcake.” 

“Oh, nice,” she said grouchily. “You know, Mister Hotshot Archangel, we can't all snap our fingers and boom, there's food. And I love how you're blameless in this equation, like this isn't even a little bit your fault.” She poked him in the side. 

Gabriel winced. “Touche. I'm sorry.” 

“I'm gonna finish frying these gross onions!” Bailey's voice called distantly from the kitchen. “And I'm giving Charlotte some pancakes okay?” 

“Thanks!” Gabriel called. He kissed the top of Melanie's head. “I am sorry, Sugar. Come on, let's see if we can get some actual food into you.” He stood up and leaned down to put his hands under her armpits and lift her effortlessly to her feet. All the feeling of sickness had gone, but she leaned into his side anyway as they walked to the kitchen. Bailey and Charlotte sat across from each other at the table, talking animatedly while eating pancakes drenched in syrup. “Sit, I've got this,” he said, steering Melanie to the table. He poured her a cup of coffee and fixed a plate for her and placed them in front of her. 

“Moooornin Mommy,” Charlotte trilled, rubbing her face against Melanie's arm. “I thought you were sick.” 

“Eh, I'm feeling better now,” she said. Bailey continued to eye her warily. 

By the time Gabriel had finished frying up hash browns and bacon, Sam stumbled out to the kitchen, yawning and sleep-rumpled. He poured himself coffee and sat down next to Bailey. 

“So. things went okay in here on your own?” he asked. 

“Yeah, it's been okay. Boring as all crap. You know if you stand on the map table and holler really, really loud, it echoes back and you can pretend there's someone else in here?” 

Sam chuckled. “At least you'll always be in agreement.” 

“I'd worry if you get a dissenting opinion back,” Gabriel said. 

“Pretty sure you'd be the culprit if that happened,” Sam said, smirking at Gabriel. 

After breakfast, Charlotte and Bailey scrambled off, eager to catch up on the past week. Melanie sat sipping her coffee, feet propped on Sam's lap, head on Gabriel's shoulder. 

Sam's phone rang. “Hey Dean,” he said picking it up. “What's up?” 

“On our way home. Case solved, monster ganked, bee researchers saved. You make it home yet? How's everyone? Bailey ain't answering the phone.” 

“Yeah, we got in last night. Everyone's good. Lottie dragged Bailey off. Or maybe vice versa. They're running around and screaming.” 

“That's good, I guess. Wait, what's that, Cas? Yeah, I guess so. So, uh, Sam, I think Cas still wants to spend some time with the bee lab, now that things are kinda back to normal there. Looks like we're not leaving until... can we head out tonight, Angel? Yeah, so after dinner tonight. Sound good? 

“So you'll get here... what, tomorrow night?” 

“If we make good time, yeah. Hey, no biggie, right? Say hi to the fam for me, Sammy.” Sam hung up the phone and relayed the conversation to Melanie and Gabriel. 

“So... Chuck gets here in two days, and we're supposed to prepare Dean and Cas, and they might not even be back by then?” Melanie said anxiously. “And what about the kids? What do we tell them? We really skirted around it with Lottie, but... should we?” 

“I honestly don't know,” Sam sighed. He glanced to Gabriel, and Melanie nudged her chin at him, waiting for an opinion. 

“I'm staying out of this one,” he declared, wrinkling his nose. “Too humany.” Melanie shot him a withering glare but he pretended not to notice. 

“I think it's too much for the kids,” Melanie said, sitting forward and setting her coffee cup down. “That's my thought on the matter.” 

“But you told me that- that you didn't think- that Chuck isn't much of a step up in the mindfuck department from Gabriel,” Sam began. 

Melanie shifted uncomfortably as Gabriel bristled. “For me, it's not. I had a certain concept of the Divine that keeps getting altered by... all of this. I'm still processing 'the actual Archangel Gabriel' and this is just another shift in-” 

Gabriel cleared his throat dramatically. “Who's sitting right here, helllllo. Wow, sugar, I had no idea you were still 'processing' me,” he said testily. He shifted away and folded his arms across his chest. “I mean, last night you said-” He stopped abruptly, waving his hand in the air. “-all that stuff, about not being weirded out by- by my wings or what I am, and now... and I mean, you really thought I would- before we talked to Dad, you thought I would hurt you or our child, and I just... maybe you don't really know me.” Gabriel concluded sadly, his voice quiet. Sam looked back and forth between them anxiously. 

Melanie sighed, running her hands over her face. “Honey... I love you, no matter how it scrambles my brain. But it does scramble my brain, okay? I can't help that. Sometimes I think I know you very well, and other times I don't, but dammit, I'm always trying to figure it out. I don't think it's any different with Sam or even with Charlotte – no matter how long or how well I know people, there's always something I haven't figured out yet but don't you dare think that I don't love any of you because of that.” Tears were spilling from her eyes as she stood and moved behind him, slinging her arms around his shoulders. She leaned her cheek on the top of his head and closed her eyes. Gabriel brought his hands up to close around her wrists gently, his thumbs rubbing soothingly into her skin. 

“Your Father... He's always been very important to me, in an abstract and distant sort of way, and I've also gotta process that He's not what I thought He was,” she said softly. She pressed a kiss onto the top of Gabriel's head before pulling away and dropping back into her seat. 

“Join the club,” Gabriel snorted. 

“But for Lottie... I mean, I never talked too much to her about angels before all that stuff that happened, so she's just got her experience, not so much the mythology. I mean, angels aren't such a big deal for us Lutherans, you know? But God... God, she knows all about, in Sunday school and the church daycare from three years old. I don't want this kind of confusion for her. And. Um. I guess I never told you guys this but,” she picked at her sleeve, hanging her face lower. “We still go sometimes,” she mumbled. 

“You go to... to church?” Sam asked, his eyes wide. “When?” 

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Sunday mornings. Before grocery shopping. Not every week, just sometimes.” 

“Why?” Gabriel asked, bewildered. He stared at her. 

“Because it's still my faith, and he's still my God! Well it's all dumb now, I suppose. I knew you guys would think it was dumb. That's why I didn't tell you. The point is, Charlotte has a lot of ideas about God and it's going to get weird if we tell her.” 

“I never stopped praying to Him,” Sam admitted. “And if you had told me, I probably would have gone with you.” 

“I figured you'd think I was naïve.” 

Sam reached across the table to take her hand. “Not at all,” he said. “You're not – or if you are, then so am I.” He stroked his fingers lightly up her arm. “So... will you still go? Now that...?” 

“Knowing what I know, you mean? Yeah. Maybe not soon. But at some point I think I will again.” 

Charlotte and Bailey galloped into the room, Charlotte chasing Bailey, then screaming when she caught them. There was a burst of giggling and then they took off again. 

“Besides, we have other news to announce,” Melanie said after the coast was clear, her hands folded low across her belly. 

Gabriel smirked. “Well that should be easier to explain, anyway.” 

“If you say so,” Melanie said, laughing. “You know that this is going to raise some delicate questions? I hope when it comes down to that discussion, that I'm not left completely on my own.” 

Sam cringed, his mouth twisting at the corner, but he took a deep breath. “I'm okay with helping with that. It's just... maybe I don't know how that talk is supposed to go, traditionally? You know it was Dean that taught me. I think I will not be repeating his, ah, advice.” 

“Hmm. So maybe you need a refresher course?” She winked suggestively at him, stretching a bare foot across to rub up and down his calf. 

“I do. Always. I forget so quickly,” he said, his lazy grin quickly shifting to dismay as he swiped a hand across his face. “I mean! I mean, not that you're forgettable! You're- believe me, neither of you are.” He cringed and looked sheepishly at his lovers. “I am the worst flirter.” 

“But you're adorable,” Gabriel sighed fondly. “Adorkable. I wouldn't have you any different for all the universe, Sammich.” Sam flushed and looked down at his hands, then back up at Gabriel's eyes. 

“On that note, I'm going to start on the dishes,” Melanie announced, standing up and reaching for the abandoned plates on the table. Before she could grab the first one, there was snap and the dishes had all disappeared. She turned around to see the stove and the workspace all cleaned as well. 

“Gabriel,” she said mildly. “You know I-” 

“Shhh, let me spoil you,” he said, reaching out to grab her hand and squeeze it gently. “Just a little.” 

“Oh, spoil me a lot, honey. But you always put the pans back the wrong way.” Gabriel laughed and went to rearrange the pans that hung from the rack according to her direction, this time pulling out the stool and moving them by hand. 

Sam slipped out of the room quietly and went to the library to half-heartedly check for cases, more out of habit than actual desire to find any. He combed through his 'weird stuff' tags and bookmarks on news sites, though nothing seemed terribly interesting. Some time later Bailey and Charlotte wandered through the library, flying Charlotte's mini drone. Charlotte tended to crash it within seconds, but Bailey was quite good at steering the little contraption. Still, Sam watched the air warily until they passed through and down the hallway. He clicked onto another news section, and was amused when the ads in the sidebar showed baby gear. Sam clicked through those and soon found himself engrossed in baby blogs, saving bookmarks for things to look further into later, and making a list of things they probably should get. He had scarcely noticed that hours had gone by when he heard footsteps and Melanie and Gabriel came down the hallway with laundry baskets of clean clothes, bickering good-naturely about some historical event that Melanie had read extensively about, but Gabriel had attended. Sam quickly shut the laptop lid. 

“I should help,” he said apologetically, and followed them to help put the clean laundry away. He sat on the bed and folded tshirts while Melanie tucked them into the drawers, admiring the even more pronounced curve of her belly. Sam swallowed past the lump in his throat as he realized just how much he was looking forward to cuddling a little bundle of Mel-and-Gabe. 


	29. Chapter 29

Dean and Castiel pulled into the garage of the bunker at nearly midnight, the Impala's engine purring to an exhausted stop. Dean opened the door and stretched each limb as he exited, complete with exaggerated facial expressions and grumbling and moaning. He heard a little rustle from the doorway and looked up to see Bailey approaching. Bailey lunged at him with a squeak and he let the child give him a big hug. 

It's good to see you,” Castiel said warmly, ruffling the kid's hair as they turned to hug the angel as well. “I knew you'd be fine on your own. You're very clever.” 

“It's been almost a week, guys. Super bored! Would much rather be- so, wait, what kind of monster did you fight?” 

“Wendigo,” said Dean grimly. “They're pretty tough. Just as well you stayed here and fed the cat, buddy.” They had lost two of the bee researchers in the end, and just barely been able to rescue the other two and get out with their own lives. Dean handed Bailey his smaller duffel bag, then shouldered the other and they all headed up the stairs to the living quarters of the bunker. 

“Sammy!” Dean said affectionately as he walked into the library. “I swear your hair got longer.” 

“Probably, Dean,” Sam said absently. He pulled a few beers from the mini fridge and popped the tops, handing one to Dean. He then perched on the edge of the table next to where Melanie sat. Gabriel sprawled in a chair next to her. The three of them looked at Dean and Castiel with similar serious expressions. 

“Uh oh,” said Dean. 

“We need to talk. Sit down?” Melanie said, gesturing to the chairs on the other side of the table. 

Dean and Cas sat warily at the table. Bailey gave a little salute and walked off down the hallway. They'd been informed already that the adults were going to have a serious conversation and it would be nice if they could lie low for the duration of it, and Bailey had agreed to accommodate that. 

“Is everyone in good health?” Castiel asked with a pointed look at Melanie's waistline. 

“Yes, We're fine. Baby's fine. This isn't about that. Although...” she trailed off. “Well but no, it's not about that. It's about... look, guys, so we found out-” 

“Daddy's back,” Gabriel interrupted brusquely, studying his fingernails. 

Castiel sucked in a breath. “You can't be serious. Gabriel, what makes you think-” 

“Sat down and talked to him. Had a few beers, went to the park... it's him, Cas.” 

“You met God?” Dean demanded, goggling at Sam. “Did you really frigging meet God, Sammy?” 

“Um. Yeah. He's pretty chill, and-” 

“But... well, I have to wonder about your baby?” Castiel asked, nodding his head toward Melanie, his face creased with worry. “Is it yours, Gabriel? Is Father back because-?” 

“Yeeeaah, that's part of it. Pops gave his blessing, so all good there.” Gabriel said, giving Melanie's shoulder a squeeze. “Though... I don't know if he's greenlighting all nephilim, or just this one. So I'd hold off on impregnating Dean,” Gabriel added. Dean made an exasperated noise. Castiel squinted at his older brother, but decided against commenting. 

“So that's it? He just popped in to say congrats on the bun? And skipped off into the sunset again?” Dean asked. He picked up his beer and took a long swallow. 

“No, the thing is, as it turns out... he's my renter,” Melanie said. 

“God rents your house?” Castiel spluttered. 

“Sister, if I were you I'd hike the rent,” Dean said. “I thought you said some starving writer dude was renting from you. Guy's late with his checks half the time and you have to bum money off your dad.” 

“That's not all, Dean,” Sam said. “It's Chuck Shurley. He was actually God all along.” 

Dean's beer bottle hit the table with a thud. “Oh for the love of...” 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. 

“I'll bet you asked him all kinds of nerdy questions,” Dean grumbled. “Me, I really want to know how he justifies leaving it all to go to shit like this. Especially when he was frigging right there in the middle of- I mean, how could he just-” 

“Good news,” said Melanie brightly. “You'll get your chance. Tomorrow.” 

Castiel stiffened, and Dean automatically reached out to him, rubbing his fingers soothingly over the angel's trembling hand. “He's coming here?” Castiel asked, his eyes wide. 

“Chuck Shurley, who is actually God, is coming here?” Dean added, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

“Yeah. Yeah, so we wanted to talk to you guys to, you know, prepare. Get a little time to wrap your heads around it,” said Sam, picking at his beer label. 

“More than we had,” Melanie added ruefully. 

“I can't believe I was with Father... spoke with Him, protected Him... and he never said...” Castiel said weakly, his face creased with sorrow. 

“Ahh, Cassy. He can be a sneaky bastard; haven't I told you?” Gabriel said, shifting in his chair. “That's what the faith thing is supposed to be about. And, you know, being good to everyone because you never know... no, wait, that's Odin. Scratch that.” 

“Well apparently it's Chuck too,” Sam said. 

“Why don't we all get some sleep. We've got a lot to process,” Castiel said softly, tugging at Dean's hand. “Thank you for... letting us know, I guess.” Dean exchanged a long look with Sam, then let himself be led to the bedroom. 


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two in one night! What madness!

Melanie stood on the rolling ladder in the library, tackling the top shelves with a feather duster. She had been up since dawn, cleaning, then driving Charlotte to school, then assigning chores to the other members of the household as they appeared, and continuing her efforts to make the bunker spotless. “I don’t think you need to dust that high. He’s like, shorter than Gabriel,” Sam scoffed as Melanie rolled the ladder over to another set of shelves and climbed up with the feather duster. “Though I guess he’s still taller than you, Shortie.” 

“Shut up you… moose,” she grumbled, though she flashed him a smile. “Did you finish de-scaling the coffee pot yet?” 

“I just ran a second pot of water through. A few more and all the vinegar should be rinsed.” Sam folded his arms across his chest and tucked his hands into his armpits. “Anything else you command, my lady?” 

“Gabe’s doing the kitchen floor?” 

“That might explain why he was lying under the table staring into the heating vent. I didn’t ask. Bailey’s in the kitchen too… says they’re making h’ors d’oerves for ‘the company’. Looked like a lot of spray cheese and crackers.” 

“And Dean and Cas are doing the bathrooms?” 

“Oh, there is no way I’m asking about that. I mean, they might be shut in one right now, but…” Sam made a gagging noise. 

“What time is it?” 

“Like… eleven thirty?” 

“Sam! It’s eleven thirty?! Crap!” Melanie started flipping the duster around faster. “Shit, get the furniture polish and do everything wooden in this room!” Sam sighed and got to work as Melanie finished the dusting at a frantic pace. He had tried several times to reason with her, that Chuck really didn’t seem to be much of a neat freak, judging by the amount of takeout containers and empty liquor bottles covering every surface of his previous residence, but the deep cleaning of the bunker seemed to give her somewhere to channel her anxiety. It was just getting annoying for everyone else. 

Just a few minutes later she climbed down and dropped into a chair, twirling the duster in her hand. Sam sat on the floor next to her feet and leaned his head on her thigh. “It’s okay,” he whispered, patting her hand. The frantic cleaning binge over, she was left with just exhaustion and worry. Combing her fingers through Sam’s hair soothed her nerves a little, but not entirely. 

Dean and Cas came in and sat quietly in the chairs across the table. Gabriel wandered in with a cup of hot cocoa and perched on a freshly polished table, earning himself a glare from Sam. “I just polished that, you twerp. I hope your ass is covered in lemon Pledge,” Sam grumbled. 

“Just the way you like it, Samshine,” Gabriel replied, wiggling his backside. Dean groaned. 

“Hey, at least it’s cheaper than my hand lotion was,” Melanie sighed. “Still kind of not over that.” 

“Sorry,” Sam said sheepishly. “I said I was sorry. I’ll take you to the mall-” 

“It was a direct sales party! That stuff is always expensive!” 

Dean and Cas exchanged baffled glances. Dean scratched at the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

“Anyway, isn’t it almost time?” Castiel cut in, a little loud, as the triad was on the verge of bursting into a full-fledged argument over... lotion? It was hardly the weirdest thing Castiel had seen the three of them bicker over, and he was too preoccupied to give it much thought, though he was once again privately grateful that he had only one human to navigate. 

“Oh, it’s actually five after. So, this is what you kids get up to in your downtime?” said Chuck from the armchair in the corner. 

“Father?” Castiel asked warily, standing up and turning toward Chuck. 

“Hey, Son,” Chuck said with a little wave. “You look good. Earth life agrees with you.” 

Castiel glanced quickly at Dean. “It does. I am very happy here.” 

“Relax, Castiel. I’m not here to mess anything up for you. Promise.” Chuck stood up and walked toward Castiel, slowly, holding his arms up. Still cautious, Castiel stepped into the embrace. He exhaled slowly as Chuck’s arms closed around him and he relaxed into the hug. 

“Father,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “Truly, truly you.” 

“I know, Son. I know.” He pulled back and clapped Castiel on the shoulders, grinning at him. “But, man! Look at you! I told you guys to love humanity but you Castiel, you did an amazing job. And I don’t just mean your relationship with Dean,” Chuck added with a wink. “But yeah, Cas, the way you’ve fought to take good care of humanity - good job, kid.” 

Castiel’s lower lip trembled, and he struggled to control it as Chuck moved toward Dean next. Dean eyed him guardedly. 

“You too, Dean. You’ve given so much, overcome so much, to be what the Earth needed. I’m very pleased.” 

“It could have been easier, Chuck,” Dean said with a weary sigh. 

“It could have been harder, too,” Chuck said with a shrug. “Almost was.” 

There was a slap-slap-slap sound of flip-flops coming closer. Bailey stepped through the doorway with a platter of crackers covered with spray cheese rosettes. Some of them had bits of vegetables or herbs stuck in for decoration. “Hello,” they called out timidly. “I brought snacks.” They set the tray down on the library table nearest where Chuck and Dean stood. “Um, I hope you like- like- cheesencrackersnstuff,” they mumbled. The child’s hazel eyes met Chuck’s brilliant blue ones, and a sudden blush spread across Bailey’s cheeks. They stared for another moment before fleeing to a chair across the room and flopping into it to stare at their shoes. 

“These look delicious. Thank you, Bailey,” Chuck said graciously, grabbing two of the crackers. “I love the red peppers,” he added with his mouth full. Bailey made an awkward noise of acknowledgement that may have been a ‘you’re welcome.’ 

“Bailey, this is Chuck, by the way,” Sam said. “Chuck, of course you know that’s Bailey.” 

“Nicetomeetyou,” Bailey squeaked, peering out through their hair. 

“Likewise,” Chuck said enthusiastically. “So hey guys, we’ve got a few hours until Lottie gets picked up, right? So… what should we do? Maybe show me around? Where should I put my bags?” 

“Oh, of course!” said Melanie, jumping up. “We got a room ready - I’m so sorry it’s not very fancy; they’re just all sort of alike here…” 

“Aw, don’t worry about it. Just the basics is fine, Mel,” Chuck said, following her, scooping up a battered backpack from the armchair. He paused in the doorway, turning around to grin at the rest of the family. “Then how about some board games? Gabriel, set us up for Monopoly. I’ll let you be the banker.” 

“Ooh, I get to be the doggo!” Bailey declared, rummaging through the box that had just appeared on the table. “Dibs!” 

“This is too weird,” Dean said, standing up and heading for the beer fridge. 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, reaching his hand out as Dean plopped a chilled bottle into it. “I don’t even like Monopoly.” 

“Oh come on, you can be the doggo if you really wanna, Sam,” Bailey said. “I like the hat, too.” 

Toward the end of the hallway, Melanie opened the bedroom door and flipped the lightswitch on. “Here it is… like I said, not fancy, but at least it’s clean. And you’re right across from the shower room. Though I guess that’s not really…” 

“Showers are fun,” Chuck said. “This century is so awesome. You couldn’t get that kind of acoustics before. Well except the cathedrals, but oddly enough, no one appreciated it when I popped in them to sing.” He stepped into the room and put his bag on the desk, touching the stack of books there. 

Melanie blinked. “Did you really… because I never heard of…” 

“There are some things that no one wants to write down,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “But, you know, you keep doing your historian thing. Just know that you’ll never get more than a fraction of it.” 

She huffed a laugh. “I have this argument with Gabriel all the time. He tells me the same thing, only he thinks it’s silly that I bother when he could just tell me.” 

Chuck smiled softly. “But other than that, you guys are… okay?” 

“Oh, yes! We have some things to work out, always, but I think… we’re good. The three of us, we’re good. Solid. We just have to keep believing in each other.” 

Chuck nodded, brushing a lock of soft brown curls back from her face and patting her cheek. “I’m glad. Now let’s go play some board games!” 


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna mention any specific spoilers, but the last chunk of the season kind of killed my mood for writing this, in the sense that it was directly contradicting some stuff... but now I'm like, screw it. I'm just going to do things my way and to hell with canon. Isn't that what we're here for anyway? ;)

The Monopoly game had been going for hours and showed no sign of stopping soon. Bailey and Dean were the clear leads, with the former holding Park Place and the latter holding Broadway, and most of the other properties distributed among them. Sam was determinedly holding onto all four railroads, although he was constantly in danger of being wiped out by landing on any of the other properties. Luckily he had frequently ended up in jail. Chuck had all of the light blue properties, and two of the red ones, and was likewise remaining afloat, but barely. Cas, Gabriel, and Melanie had all lost everything, though Gabriel was still gleefully enjoying his banker duties. 

Melanie’s phone alarm beeped. “Guys, I have to head out to pick up Charlotte. I might stop at the store. Does anyone need anything?” 

“Dean needs some bandaids for the hurtin’ I’m about to lay on him,” Bailey declared, fluttering their property cards. 

“Oh yeah, well… you... need some Mickey Mouse bandaids. And a… Barbie icepack. Cause I’m the one delivering hurtings,” Dean retorted, tossing the dice. “Son of a bitch!” he grumbled as he moved onto Atlantic Avenue. 

“Enjoy your stay at my faaaabulous hotel, Mr Winchester,” Bailey said saucily, holding their palm out. 

“Okay, well if someone wants something, text me?” Melanie said, picking up her purse from the table. 

“Maybe I’ll come with you, Sugar,” Gabriel said, standing up. He glanced at Chuck, who gave a distracted little wave of his hand. Dismissed, Gabriel followed Melanie out the door. 

They pulled up at the elementary school pick-up loop just before dismissal and sat with the windows open, enjoying the warm, breezy spring day. Charlotte came running out soon after the bell rang, a blur of long blonde pigtails and floral printed ruffles flying in the breeze, and she climbed into the back of the van. She slammed the van door, then scooted up between the front seats to plant kisses on Gabe and Melanie’s cheeks. 

“Where’s Daddy?” she asked, settling into her seat at last and fastening it. “I wanted to show- OH! Is today the day Mister Chuck Guy is coming over? Did you make Daddy stay home and clean something?” 

“He got in a few hours ago, Pipsqueak,” Gabriel said. “Everyone else is hanging out at the house with him.” Charlotte yipped excitedly, squirming in her seat. 

Just as Melanie started to drive away, her phone buzzed. Gabriel picked it up and squinted at the screen. “Dean-O says ‘Affirmative on the bandaids. :( Kid got us good. But srsly, cld use more beer. An bacon.’” 

Melanie snickered. “Alright, quick run to the supermarket - wait, Gabriel, what are you typing? Gabe, put my phone down. Dammit!” He said nothing, but a smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Gabe, if you are typing something questionable to Dean I’m going to kick your ass!” 

“Relax, Cupcake,” he sighed, putting the phone down at last. She eyed it warily, her hands twitching on the wheel. Within seconds the phone pinged again. Gabriel snatched it back up. 

“Dean says ‘Whoa Sis r u possessed? Do me & Sam gotta come exorcise u?’” Gabriel announced, then rapidly began typing again. 

“Gabriel, you fucking shit!” Melanie squeaked, swatting her phone out of his hands. It dropped to the floor between his shoes. 

“Oh come on Sugar,” he said, pouting at her. 

“Do not make me pull this car over,” she hissed between her teeth. 

“Actually you probably should, because that was the store back there.” 

Swearing profusely, Melanie pulled into the next parking lot and circled back to the store. Once she threw the car in park, she leaned over to grab for the phone, but Gabriel already had it in his hand. 

“Dean says ‘Srsly, holy water, holy oil, whatever u need’. Shit, I think he knows it’s me.” The game over, Gabriel finally relented and let Melanie have her phone. She thumbed through the recent messages declaring her passionate love for Dean, and begging him to run away with her. 

“You’re a jackass, you know that?” she fumed. “Of course he knows it’s you. He’s not stupid.” 

“Can you two just stop so we can get shopping already? I wanna go home,” Charlotte whined. 

Melanie and Gabriel exchanged a guilty look. “Sorry, Sweetness,” Gabriel said. They went into the store and quickly got the necessary supplies, as well as whatever candy Gabriel could toss in the cart while Melanie wasn’t looking. 

The drive home was relatively quiet. Her phone firmly in her pocket, Melanie watched Gabriel out of the corner of her eye. She suspected that his impishness was a cover for feelings that he was less interested in sharing. He seemed a bit more fidgety than usual, but nothing that indicated obvious distress. She decided not to pry. 

When they stepped into the library, Bailey and Sam were watching a documentary on the Mars rover on Sam’s laptop. They were the only ones in sight, and the game was neatly put away. 

“Simultaneous pee break?” Gabriel asked, glancing around. 

“That’d be legendary, since Dean’s the only one of them who pees,” Sam said drily. “No, they… I don’t know, Chuck, um, took them for a walk.” 

“They wanted to talk without me,” Bailey said glumly. 

“Hey, it doesn’t mean- they might have some personal stuff going on, but that doesn’t-” 

“Chill, Sam. I’m not butthurt,” Bailey assured him, patting him on the arm. “This is super cool. I so want to go to Mars.” Charlotte joined Bailey, leaning against their chair, watching the Mars footage in fascination. 

Gabriel sighed. “Well okay, but you should probably go pee and grab a sweater before we-” 

“Gabe, no,” Sam said firmly. “No one’s going to Mars. And could you stop texting Dean from Melanie’s phone? I could do without the dramatic recitations.” 

Gabriel dropped into the chair next to Sam and leaned his head against Sam’s shoulder with a huge sigh. “Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“Hey, you okay?” Sam murmured softly, turning in his chair to pull Gabriel closer against him. Bailey raised an eyebrow at the two but turned back to the movie. 

“Eh,” Gabriel replied, snuggling into Sam. “Just cuddle me for a while, Kiddo.” Sam tangled a hand in the golden hair and breathed in. 


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another twofer, last night and today. I think Hellatus may put me back in the swing of this!

“Why have you brought us here, Father?” Castiel asked, looking around. The three of them stood on a beach. Choppy ocean waves stretched out far ahead of them. Behind them there was a rocky mountainside covered in trees and bushes. The beach was littered with driftwood and coconuts. 

“Well, it’s pretty nice, isn’t it?” Chuck said, holding his arms wide. 

“Of course,” Castiel agreed. 

“What is this, Hawaii?” Dean asked. 

“No. No, this place hasn’t been found by humans yet, so. No name.” 

Dean stared. “Holy crap! So I’m the first human here?” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Chuck shrugged, crouching to pick up a handful of sand. 

“I am so calling this place… Zeppelin. Zeppelin Island. Yeah.” Dean grinned widely as he turned in circles to survey the landscape. Castiel smiled indulgently at him. 

“So this is… what, our reward? Or is this the glimpse of paradise before you bring the hammer down on us for our sinnin’?” Dean said, watching Chuck carefully. 

“What? Dean, no, I… I’m really pleased with you guys. I just thought this would be a nice quiet place to talk. Here, sit down.” Chuck waved his hand and three rattan chairs with thick cushions appeared on the beach. Chuck dropped into one of the chairs as a large round glass with blue liquid, a pineapple stick, and an umbrella appeared in his hand. He winked at Dean, and there was a beer bottle floating in the air in front of him. Dean stared at it, transfixed, for a moment before grabbing it. Chuck gave Castiel a wine glass with a pale yellowish liquid that Dean suspected was probably mead. 

“I was recently shown some things,” Chuck began after taking a long sip of his drink. “Things… things just kept getting worse the more I wrote, guys. You know, it’s like that sometimes… story gets away from you and nothing comes out like you envisioned it. I had to dial it back like… chapters and chapters. Finally got some really good stuff flowing… and then yet another monkey wrench. But through all this I realized… maybe I...” He took a deep breath, looking back and forth from the angel to the man. “I mean, maybe I was kinda… wrong. I did need to pull back and let humanity find its own way; I don’t think that was wrong. But maybe I didn’t need to pull all the way back.” He gazed at Dean sadly. “I know you think that I should have stepped in about a lot of things. Maybe, at least some of those times, I should have. I’m sorry, Dean. And Castiel-” Chuck turned to look at him. “I never should have left the angels on their own like that. You guys are- well, sorry Son, but- you’re even less equipped to be on your own than the humans were. Collectively. Not you personally.” 

Castiel nodded. “I think you are right, Father.” 

“So this is your apology?” Dean asked tersely. 

Chuck looked around in confusion. “I- yes, is this not… sounding like an apology?” 

Dean shrugged. “It does. Thing is… you’ve obviously known what’s been going on with us. All the awful shit that went down, and now is when you pop up? I mean, we’ve all been doing pretty well the last few years. Nothing big and scary breathing down our necks. Not that I’m not glad to see you now, but I wonder about the timing. And why.” 

Chuck took a deep breath. “Yeah, that’s, sometimes things- things just,” he stuttered nervously. He raised his glass and took a long swallow. 

“It’s Gabriel’s nephilim, isn’t it?” Castiel said suddenly, his eyes narrowing. 

Chuck coughed. “Yeah, so, I decided to change my rules about-” 

“After all the pain and suffering you wrought the last time-” Castiel’s features clouded over with anger. “What Gabriel and the rest of us went through, to say nothing of the human mates and the nephilim themselves…” 

“They were evil! They were, Castiel! They are predisposed to evil, and it’s going to take a lot of effort to raise this one not to be. But you know, I looked around at this… this Winchester family, and I see so much good that I thought, eh, maybe. Maybe together they can do it. I doubt any other collection of humans and angels could, but these ones are always proving me wrong. So here goes.” 

“So you popped out of hiding to tell Gabriel and Melanie to be good parents?” Dean said, sitting forward. 

“And Sam, yes,” Chuck added pointedly. “And for you and Castiel to be the uncles, protectors, the role models-” 

Dean snorted. “I ain’t a role model.” 

“You are,” Castiel said quietly but firmly, placing a hand over Dean’s. “We’ll be there for the child, Father, and we’ll do our best. I don’t think there was any question of that.” 

“So how powerful is this kid going to be? Is it going to pop out and, I dunno, smite things when it loses its binky? Cause we already had a few run-ins with powered-up angry kids, and they were old enough to talk to, and it still was pretty hairy for a while. Can’t wait to see what a colicky half-angel baby can do.” 

“It’s not like that, Dean. He’ll grow into his power. He’ll be a perfectly normal child for years to come,” Chuck promised. 

“As the nephilim of an archangel, he’ll be even more powerful than the last time this happened, won’t he? When he’s fully grown…” Castiel looked at Chuck in surprise. “He’ll rival you.” 

“Yes. He will,” Chuck admitted. “And there will be a lot of interest in him, particularly once Gabriel lifts the warding and his existence is noticed.” 

“So we not only have to raise the kid right, but keep pretty much everything from trying to kill him or corrupt him.” Dean rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. 

Chuck nodded. “Uh huh. But this time, I won’t leave you on your own. If you need me, I’ll come. We’ll be in touch. And I’m going to, soon, I’m going to take a trip to the ol’ homestead and do some maintenance up there.” 

“You’re going to Heaven? You’re going to manage the angels?” Castiel sat forward, relief washing over him. Dean put a steadying hand on his arm, afraid that Castiel was about to fall out of his chair. 

“Yep. But first, some more family time with the Winchester crew. You guys are so much fun! I think we should go bowling next.” 

In the blink of an eye, the three were back in the bunker. They landed in the kitchen. Grocery bags sat on the counter, half unpacked. Melanie was sitting on the counter next to the bags, and Sam stood between her knees, hands tangled in her hair, kissing her deeply. Melanie’s hands were shoved in his back pockets, gripping his ass firmly and pulling him closer. 

“Oh, come on!” Dean exclaimed in disgust as Castiel tactfully cleared his throat. Sam and Melanie pulled apart quickly. Chuck grabbed an Almond Joy from one of the shopping bags and walked out of the room, nonplussed, wearing an amused grin. Castiel and Sam quietly went to work putting away the groceries, while Dean glared at Melanie. 

“What?” she said after a prolonged staring match. 

“Your ass is still on the counter.” 

“I clean the counters too.” She continued to meet his gaze. 

“Yeah, well, it’s still gross. You know what, why are you even here, Melanie? Just because Sam wants you here doesn’t mean anyone else does. And don’t even bring up- Gabriel’s opinion counts even less than- than the cat’s. And that’s another thing, that filthy animal-” 

“That cat is cleaner than you are, Dean Winchester!” Melanie spit out. “At least he bathes every day. You dare bitch about me being on the counter when I’ve washed your freaking laundry! I know things,” she hissed with a shudder. Sam winced in sympathy. 

Dean scratched at the back of his neck. “Fine, be that way,” he sighed grumpily, and trudged out of the room. 

“...the fuck?” Melanie said quietly. 

“He’s stressed,” Castiel said. 

“Who isn’t,” Sam retorted. “He usually picks a random fight with anyone but Melanie. If he’s fighting with her, he means it.” 

“Look, we know it annoys him when he catches us making out. Nothing new about it. It’s not like we haven’t bickered over this before.” Melanie scootched off the table and began putting groceries away, squeezing things into the overfull fridge. “It’s fine. I can’t believe I made a special trip to get that asshole beer and bacon,” she added. 

Castiel wandered out of the kitchen, deep in thought. He passed the door of the storeroom that Bailey and Charlotte had commandeered as their Lego den, and leaned in the doorway, listening to their excited chatter. To his surprise, Chuck was there, seated on the floor, pulling tiny bricks apart. 

“Oh my God, you are UH-MAAAAZING,” Bailey was gushing. “No one can get those ones apart.” 

“I can tell by the teethmarks,” Chuck said, smoothing one out with his fingertip. 

“Uncle Caaaaaas,” Charlotte trilled, grabbing him around the knees. “Did you meet my friend Mister Chuck Guy yet?” 

“I did, yes,” Castiel confirmed. “If you’ll excuse me, I was just on my way-” 

“Dean went that way,” Bailey said, pointing. “He totally looked pissed. What did you do?” 

“Me? I didn’t-” 

“You better go butter him up,” Bailey advised. 

Castiel continued down the hallway. In the map room, he nearly tripped over Gabriel, who was sprawled on the floor staring at the cat. Pumpkin was tackling the dangly toys on the new cat structure. 

“The cat is attacking our feathers, which are dangling from a string amidst these mousies and fishies and such,” Gabriel said, in a deceptively cheerful voice. “Feathers which should be locked in the storage room vault, due to their potential uses in spells, many of which would go badly for us.” 

“Bailey asked for feathers,” Castiel said apologetically. “Since this will never leave the bunker…” Castiel trailed off, growing uncomfortable under the stare Gabriel was leveling at him. “I’ll just… get some bird feathers and replace… okay.” Gabriel stared at Castiel for a moment longer, then untied the feathers from the twine and placed them in his jacket pocket. “I’m sorry.” 

“Thought you were smarter than that, little bro. You know what these could-” 

“Yes, I know, it was stupid, and I’m sorry,” Castiel snapped, stalking out of the room on his continuing quest to find Dean. 

“Touchy,” Gabriel muttered to the cat. “You’d think a guy could call out his little brother on being a dumbass without getting bitched at. Huh.” He snapped his fingers for a candy bar, since he’d left the recent grocery acquisitions in the kitchen, and when Pumpkin looked at him expectantly, he rolled his eyes and snapped again, producing a small dish of stinky, mushy wet cat food. “You’re welcome, hairball.” 

Castiel found Dean at last, lying on the bed with his headphones on. Castiel laid beside him and reached for his hand and they stayed there quietly for some time, fingers entwined. Eventually, Dean put his music aside and turned his head. “Hey,” he said softly. 

“Hello Dean,” Castiel said. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a few moments while the angel gathered his thoughts.“You’re angry at Melanie because of the baby,” Castiel said carefully at last. 

“No! No.No, Cas, it’s not that, it’s- Chuck should have come to help out. At least when his dickhead angels were messing with our kid, you know? Instead he shows up for-” 

“Our kid? You mean Charlotte? Because she is a Winchester?” 

“Yeah, you know, if he’s so concerned with this family-” 

“The new baby will be in this family. Or do you not see it that way?” 

“What? Of course. Cas. I’m not saying that it doesn’t deserve to be safe and cared for. Just that… Lottie did too. That crap that happened to her was so awful… and I mean come on, every shitty thing that happened to Sammy? My parents? Hell, Bailey’s parents? And then, not even the supernatural crap, but all the stupid human crap that stupid humans have been doing every day for centuries.” Dean brought his fist down hard into the memory foam of the mattress with an unsatisfying squish. 

“I don’t fault my Father for not coming around constantly and repairing every little-” 

“No, of course not. Not everything, but some of it? I dunno man. I don’t want to hold a grudge but I kinda can’t... not.” 

Castiel squeezed Dean’s hand. “I understand. But perhaps it’s not right to hold it at Melanie and the baby.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. I was a dick. But I mean, could they could still stop sucking face in the kitchen, and on the damn countertop. I mean, what is so sexy about that countertop?” 

Castiel chuckled. “Maybe we should find out one of these nights,” he whispered against Dean’s ear, with a little nibble. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Dean purred. 


	33. Chapter 33

Several evenings later, Melanie sat on the edge of Charlotte's bed, nervously chewing on a strand of her hair. Gabriel sprawled across the bed, holding a copy of Cat Lovers Magazine above his head, bare feet in her lap. “Relax, Sugar,” he said reflexively when she sighed. “It'll be fine.” 

“Yeah, I know, it's just... how we tell her is important, you know? Kinda... sets the tone for the whole experience.” 

“She'll be thrilled,” Gabriel said, dropping the magazine back onto Charlotte's nightstand. “She loves babies. Every time we're at a park or a store and see a baby, she goes nuts.” 

“It's different when they don't go home eventually,” Melanie said ruefully. “Believe me.” 

“Hey,” he said softly, sitting up. “You're not alone this time, Sweetie. We've got you. No sleepless nights, no lying on the floor sobbing next to the crib, no eating every meal with one hand... we won't let you struggle. Promise.” Gabriel cupped her face gently, smoothing his thumbs over her cheeks. He leaned down to kiss her softly just as the door swung open and Sam and Charlotte returned. Sam chuckled as Charlotte made a squawking sound. 

“No smooches. It's Charlotte time!” she declared, diving between them. She was clad in unicorn-printed pajamas, her hair was damp, and she smelled of bubblegum toothpaste. 

“Did you say goodnight to everyone?” Gabriel inquired. 

“Yeppers. And hugs. And kisses. And snuggles for Pumpkin. And extra hugs for Mr Chuck Guy. He says he doesn't get much hugs anymore.” Sam exchanged a glance with Gabriel, the archangel looking pensive and a little sad. “So are we gonna do storytime?” 

“Sure, sure. In a minute. First though, we wanted to talk to you about something,” Melanie said, smoothing her palm down Charlotte's hair. 

“We have some pretty big news,” Sam added, settling onto the bed. “Kind of... a big change coming.” 

Charlotte stared at him. “Is it a good change?” she asked warily. 

“It is,” Gabriel said. “The best kind of changes are when you get someone new to love.” 

“And we're going to have someone new here in a few months,” Sam continued. “Someone... very small and cuddly.” 

Charlotte's face lit up. “Ooooh are we finally getting a puppy? I know Uncle Dean keeps saying no puppies but he-” 

“No. No, Lottie, it's not... it's not a puppy,” Melanie said, patting her hand. “It's a baby. We're going to have a baby.” 

“What, you mean you are? Mommy! But you said I would always be the only one,” she said, her face crinkling up in confusion. Melanie shot a panicked look at Gabriel. In her concern for changing the memories of her close family members about her reproductive abilities, she'd forgotten what Charlotte had known about her birth story – the barest of details, but she'd known that there were some problems and that Melanie could never have more babies. 

“Your mother used to think that would be the case, but it turns out that that wasn't true after all,” Gabriel said smoothly. “So do you think you'll like a little brother?” 

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said after a pause. “He better not eat my Legos, but he can probably play house and stuff like that, right?” 

“Eventually,” Sam said with a grin. “Though, I'm sure Dean will tell you, little brothers never seem to quite catch up to your level.” 

“He'll be so much littler than you, Lottie. I mean, by the time he's your age, you'll be... a big grown-up girl.” Melanie was suddenly overwhelmed with a flood of tears at the thought. 

“But that's a long time from now,” Sam said quickly, placing a soothing hand on Melanie's back. “One step at a time. Our next task is going to be getting ready for a tiny, brand-new baby.” 

“Sure thing, Daddy,” Charlotte said, pursing her lips, her brow wrinkled in concentration in perfect imitation of Sam's research face. “What do I need to do?” 

“Oh, well... we'll have to make some space for him. Do some shopping. Paint a room? I guess,” Gabriel said, waving his hand dismissively. 

“Read some books, read some blogs,” Sam added. “Gather information. Find out what we need to know. None of us has had much to do with taking care of babies before, besides your mother.” His hand tightened on the back of Mel's shirt for a moment. “Since I didn't get to see you as a baby, this will all be new to me.” 

“It's more about getting mentally prepared,” Melanie said thoughtfully. “That's the biggest task and the hardest part, I think. I wasn't- wasn't really ready. You came home and I didn't... didn't expect...” She drew in a shaky breath. “We had to learn together.” 

“Was I squally? Screamy-meemie red-faced squawk squawk!” she flopped backwards onto the bed, arms outstretched. “Mollie Jenkins says her little sister never stops screaming. And they got her way at the beginning of the school year. That's a long time of screamy baby.” Charlotte squinted. 

“I doubt it'll be as bad as all that,” Sam said reassuringly. Charlotte tossed over onto her side, leaning her cheek against Melanie's thigh. She looked upward. Suddenly, her green eyes scanned her mother's torso. 

“Mommy is it in your belly right now?” 

Melanie laughed. “Yes, that's where it is. It's very small now but soon it'll be more noticeable.” 

Charlotte continued to stare, processing this. “How long... wait but when did you... UGH!” She made a face, scooted up the bed and buried her head under the pillow. 

“Oh crap,” said Sam, his eyes wide. 

“Don't think about zebras,” Gabriel suggested, wincing. 

“I'd rather think about zebras,” Charlotte mumbled into the pillow. 

“Well that went well,” Melanie muttered. 

“Can we just... get to regular bedtime story stuff?” Sam asked. 

“No. You're all fired,” Charlotte said angrily. “Just let me sleep.” 

The trio shuffled into the hallway awkwardly, closing the door behind them. 

“She'll be over it by morning,” Gabriel predicted. 

“I mean... how much does she understand?” Sam asked. “How does she know how...?” 

“She and I had a... discussion recently,” Melanie said. “Sorry, guess I should have mentioned.” 

As Gabriel had predicted, by breakfast the next morning Charlotte was back to normal. She gave everyone hugs upon entering the kitchen and sat down. Chuck was wearing Dean's apron and cooking impressive stacks of pancakes. Bailey sat on a high stool at the counter, watching him cook, though every time he turned to face them, they would look back down at their plate and avoid eye contact. 

“I love these pancakes so much,” they gushed, pouring syrup on another stack. “I could eat a million.” 

“Yeah? Thanks,” Chuck said, beaming proudly. “It's the cinnamon and the nutmeg. That's the magic combo,” he said, pouring more batter onto the griddle. He speared a few onto a plate and set it in front of Charlotte. “Eat up, kids. Guaranteed to make you healthy and strong.” 

“Will it make my hair curly?” Charlotte asked hopefully. 

“You do not want that, trust me,” Melanie said from her seat at the table. “Such a pain.” She twanged one of her frizzy curls ruefully. 

“They're just pancakes,” Chuck said apologetically. “But, um. Maybe I can fix your hair-” he faltered at Melanie's wide eyes. “-f-fix it in a temporary hairstyle, after breakfast. You know, with, um, curlers and stuff.” 

“Can you tie a ribbon and make it stay on my hair and not slide off?” she asked. 

“Uh, yeah, I think I can,” he said. 

“K,” she agreed, filling her mouth with pancakes. 

“So how are they?” he asked. 

“I like French toast better,” she said around a mouthful. “But I'll eat 'em. I'm hungry. Also, I need bacons and blueberries and apple juice.” 

Dean was the next to appear in the kitchen, with Castiel close behind. “I thought I smelled pancakes,” he said appreciatively. Chuck turned and presented him with a loaded plate, a small smile on his face. 

“Awesome,” said Dean, dropping into the seat next to Melanie. “How's it going, kids?” 

“Chuck is the best cook,” Bailey said. 

“My mom is having a baby,” Charlotte said, stabbing her fork into her pancakes. 

“...oh,” said Dean, muffled around a mouthful of food. “Well um. That's pretty great, isn't it? You get to be way older, make him do what you tell him to, at least until his gargantuan ass gets taller than you,” Dean said with a grin 

“Sometimes even then,” Sam said, shooting Dean a bitchy smirk. 

“She's gonna have like eight years on the kid. That's twice the advantage that I got,” Dean returned. 

“Maybe she'll cultivate a spirit of cooperation with her sibling so as to foster goodwill in him” Chuck said mildly, turning around and placing a platter of perfectly cooked bacon on the table, then a bowl of blueberries. “Gabriel, get her some apple juice please. From the refrigerator.” Dean stared at his plate stonyfaced as Gabriel got up to do as he was asked. Castiel caught Dean's eye and shook his head slightly at him and Dean sighed. 

“You could all learn from my mistakes, guys. I get the irony in this, believe me, Dean,” Chuck said. “I'm just trying to help.” 

Gabriel put Charlotte's juice glass in front of her, then turned to Chuck and suddenly wrapped his arms around him in a fierce hug. He let go after a moment, squeezing his shoulders. 

“Heard you needed that,” he said, smiling. 

Chuck stepped back and leaned against the counter, emotions warring on his face. “Kinda, yeah,” he admitted. “Been a lonely... few years.” 

“No one's ever lonely here in the bunker,” said Charlotte. “You come visit us when you get lonely and get lots of hugs, okay? Sometimes we're even the opposite of lonely. It's hard to find a quiet place.” 

“Seems to me like a certain little girl is the source of most of the noise,” said Dean, sipping his coffee. Charlotte giggled and kicked his shin gently under the table. 

“There'll be a new source soon enough,” Melanie said, curving her hand around her belly. 

“Does he kick you and stuff?” Bailey asked. 

“Nah, in a few weeks perhaps. And then a few weeks more until anyone can feel it from the outside. But I promise, when that starts, you'll get to feel it.” Melanie offered with a smile. 

“Cool,” said Bailey, dipping bacon into a large puddle of maple syrup. 

After breakfast, Chuck followed the kids to the ping-pong table. “You can play the winner, and then we can keep switching like that,” Charlotte offered. 

“Anyone else coming?” Chuck asked, looking around hopefully. 

“I suppose I could give it a try,” Castiel said carefully. “Dean certainly seems to enjoy the game.” 

“Ahh Dean, you'll come too?” Chuck said brightly. 

Dean shot Castiel a dirty look. “Sure, what the hell,” he agreed. 

The bunker rec room had seen numerous improvements over the years. There was ping pong and pool, and a dartboard. The tables had stained glass lamps over them, rescued from some bar that was being torn down. The most recent upgrade had been an enormous flat screen TV, hung on the wall in front of a semi-circle of couches and recliners. The opposite corner held a small fridge and a popcorn machine, the freestanding vintage kind. Behind the game tables, against the far wall, was a pinball machine, Mrs PacMan, and a Golden Tee video game which had appeared one day when Gabriel was bored. 

Bailey and Charlotte immediately seized paddles and launched into their game. Dean dropped into his favorite recliner, a brown leather one to the right of the TV. Castiel sat carefully on the plaid couch, and Chuck sat next to him, hands folded comfortably across his midsection as he looked around the room approvingly. 

“Fa- er, Chuck. When you go to- to do the thing you said you were going to do, are you going to require any help?” Castiel asked. 

“Cas, what are you doing?” Dean asked, sitting forward in alarm. Their eyes met, conveying Dean's concern and Castiel's steely determination. 

“It's okay... I really don't think so, Cas... I mean, maybe once in a while a small task, but I would not have you leave your family for a long term post, no.” 

“The angels are my family,” Castiel protested. “They may not particularly welcome me, but I am still an angel and I should be willing to do what you need of me.” 

“Yes, but you're forgetting: 'wherefore a man shall leave his Father and cling to his spouse... the two shall become one flesh.' Dean is your family, and your obligation to him is important. And now you've adopted a child, besides.” 

Dean and Castiel stared wide-eyed at Chuck. “Sp-spouse?” Dean finally stuttered. 

“I mean... it fits, doesn't it? I assume you're planning on staying together forever, sharing your lives, all that jazz? You seem pretty, you know, happy. You love each other? Forsaking all others – I mean, unless that's something you negotiate. Sickness and health, richer, poorer, whatever, you'll stand by each other?” 

“Yes, of course,” Castiel said, his cheeks pinkening. 

“What he said,” Dean agreed. 

“Well there you go. I pronounce it,” Chuck said with a wave of his hand. “Congrats.” 

“I...” Dean began before trailing off and shaking his head. 

“Did you just join us in the bonds of holy matrimony?” Castiel asked with a squint. 

“I just pointed out what was already there,” Chuck said glibly. “Feel free to, eh, have a party and get rings and everything if you like, but in my eyes you've been married for quite some time.” He took a sip of a glass of whiskey that he hadn't been holding a moment earlier. “I am aware of the vows that you two made, when your meddling brother trapped you in that hotel room all those years ago, after you averted the Apocalypse together,” he added, his cool blue eyes fixed on Castiel. “You had to know the nature of what you were promising one another.” 

“So common-law marriage ain't just a human invention,” Dean mused. “Well Cas, I'm sorry I never got you a ring or anything.” 

“I don't need a ring, Dean,” Castiel answered, reaching out to squeeze Dean's hand. 

“Hah! I beat you!” came a triumphant shout from across the room. Charlotte waved her arms in the air and jumped up and down in an excited victory dance. Both children had been too focused on the game to hear any of the distant adult conversation. 

Bailey flopped down on the far end of the couch, passing their paddle to Chuck. “You're up, man. Watch out for that kid; she's unbeatable I think.” 

“I'm going to teach her to play pool next. She can earn her keep in a few years,” Dean declared distractedly, his eyes still on Castiel's. 

“Yes, Dean,” Castiel agreed. “But right now, I think that we are almost out of beer. And, ah, toilet paper. This is probably an urgent matter requiring immediate replenishment of supplies by us two taking your car for a long drive alone.” 

“Beer run,” Dean replied, his eyes brightening. “Takin' a raincheck on the game, kids.” He stood up, pulling Cas to his feet, and they exited the room hand in hand. 

“Ugh,” Bailey said to themself, rolling their eyes. “What a couple of gross schmoopy puppies.” They looked around the abandoned area and shuffled back over to the game tables to lean against the pool table and watch the game. Charlotte was already three points up, and Chuck appeared just too slow to return many of the shots. 

“Aww you're trying so hard,” Charlotte said encouragingly. “I guess it's kinda hard being old.” 

Chuck laughed. “It is, yeah.” 

“Hey, um, Chuck,” Bailey said, nervously picking at their fingernails. “Are you- are you an angel, like Cas and Gabe are? You seem like... you guys are family?” 

Chuck missed another shot, startled by the question. “Well, no I'm not an angel, actually,” he admitted as the ping pong ball clattered to the floor. 

“But you seem like you have magic like them. That maple syrup bottle this morning... I was dumping like a gallon on my plate and it was always full, man. Gabe usually does stuff like that, but that started when he wasn't there yet.” 

Charlotte snorted, thumping her paddle on the table. “Don't be dumb, Bailey. Can't you tell? Chuck is God.” 

“Oh stop it, Lottie,” Bailey returned, blushing furiously. “I know he's awesome but-” Bailey looked from Charlotte to Chuck, who was staring open-mouthed at the little girl. “Dude, you cannot be.” 

“Lottie, where did- where did you-” Chuck stammered. “Where did you hear that?” 

“I can see it,” she said simply. “I mean, look in a mirror, Mr. Chuck. Bailey, can't you see how glowy his light is? It's even more than Gabe's is, and that was the most I've ever seen. And it's so white. It's nothing at all like people lights or even like angel lights.” She shrugged, retrieving the ping pong ball and tossing it to Chuck. 

“Have you always seen the lights, Lottie?” Chuck asked, coming around the table to crouch next to her, scrutinizing her face. 

“Um, I guess? I- no, it started just before Daddy- I don't want to talk about it!” she shouted suddenly, struggling to hold back tears. She ran around Chuck to the other side of the room, throwing herself onto a couch and shaking with sobs. 

“I'm sorry, Charlotte,” Chuck said. He walked over and sat on the floor next to her. “I'm just a little worried about you.” He smoothed her hair gently. “I- uh, you weren't- there's no reason that you should be able to see auras and I just want to-” 

“Shut up!” Charlotte screeched, swinging a throw pillow at him. “I want my Mommy!” 

“Of course,” he said. “I'll just... I'll just go, now.” He stood up, looked helplessly at Bailey, and then quickly left the room. 


	34. Chapter 34

“Here’s a case,” said Melanie eagerly, shifting in her chair and displacing Gabriel’s arm from her shoulder. She patted his knee absentmindedly. “I think, anyway. Some mysterious, gory deaths in Alabama. People are speculating about a serial killer. It just says ‘dismembered’. Could be a lot of things, right?” She leaned against Gabriel as Sam scooted over closer to read the newspaper article on her screen. 

“Sure. I mean, werewolf, skinwalker, rugaru.” Sam ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll go find Dean and-” 

“Nah, him and Cassie took off like wildfire about half an hour ago, in the car. I wouldn’t wait up,” Gabriel said, grinning. 

“Well, with any luck they’ll be quick,” Sam said, scowling. “In the meantime, I guess I’ll try to find the police reports and get more details.” 

“Actually, maybe you should put another hunter on this,” Chuck said, suddenly sitting across the table from them. “We need to talk about Charlotte.” 

Melanie sat up straighter, a frown creasing her brow. “What about Charlotte?” she asked. 

“Gabriel, tell me about the cure you gave the child several years ago. That was some powerful magic, and I do not think it was anything of mine.” Chuck fixed his gaze on the archangel curiously. 

“True. I wasn’t really sure what to do, Dad. The kid was full of angel blood… I’ve never even heard of anyone trying anything like that, before or since.” 

“Not with angels, anyway,” Sam said bitterly. 

“I am somewhat aware of what Naomi was attempting. Gotta say, it was a new one on me, too. Pretty sure she pulled that out of her ass and got lucky,” Chuck said, swirling the whiskey in his glass and peering into it thoughtfully. “What I don’t know is how you came up with that… spell?” 

Gabriel sighed deeply. “Yeah, it’s pagan magic. When a seer would channel a god or goddess… and then when they were done… there was this potion they’d be given to drink and an incantation. This would burn the magic of the deity out of them so they could live normal human lives. I figured it was worth a shot.” 

“ _Worth_ a _shot_?” Sam exploded. “Gabriel, you didn’t even know what the hell you were doing?” He tightened his hand on Melanie’s shoulder as the two of them turned to stare at the archangel. 

“Well it worked, didn’t it?” Gabriel replied hotly. 

“No,” Chuck said. “Not exactly.” 

“What.” said Melanie flatly. 

“It stopped her from being an angel-smiting machine. Which is good. Really, um, important. But she still has power lingering from that. I don’t know the extent of it, but she’s a little bit… different.” 

“What do you mean?” Melanie scoffed. “All these years, there’s never been anything wrong with her.” 

“I think she maybe just didn’t mention some things. Like reading auras? She was just talking about our ‘light’. How apparently mine is ‘even brighter than Gabriel’s’.” 

“Well, fuck,” Gabriel muttered. 

“Maybe it’s unrelated to that. Some people do see auras. Surely some ordinary humans who’ve never had anything to do with the supernatural are just... gifted,” Melanie suggested. 

“No!” Sam declared, bristling at the word ‘gifted.’ She didn’t know how it had been applied to him in the past, how it made him want to throw up to think of the same denial of agency happening to his daughter. “No, nothing that happens to a Winchester is ever random. If it’s not because of the angel blood thing, it’s something else. Someone else screwing with her. God dammit! - sorry, Chuck.” Sam looked sheepish, but Chuck just waved his hand, unperturbed. 

“It’s not a natural gift, Melanie. It’s not how I made her,” Chuck said. “At some point in her life this has been foisted upon her, and she was very upset when I asked about when it started. I assume the incident in which angels were murdered in front of her is the most traumatic thing she’s been through?” 

Melanie nodded, sniffling. “Can we keep this between us?” she said. “I would really, _really_ rather Dean not know about this.” 

“Which means we can’t tell Cas either, because you know he won’t keep it from Dean,” Sam added. 

“Yeah, I see no reason why I’d need to mention it to them while you guys work on figuring it out,” Chuck said. 

“Aren’t you going to help?” Sam asked incredulously. 

Chuck shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. “I really don’t know what to…” 

“You are God; how can you not know?” Sam shouted irritably, shrugging off Gabriel’s quelling hands. 

“It’s not my doing, Sam. But... I am heading back to Heaven, and I will see what I can find out there. Perhaps if Naomi was responsible for this, she will know.” 

Gabriel coughed. “Yeah, um… I mean, if you want her back, I’ll…” 

“Gabriel, did you put your little sister in a pocket dimension?” 

“Daddy, she hurt my little girl!” Gabriel fumed. “And she was trying to trap me, and she wasn’t gonna stop. Maybe you can make her stop if I drag her wretched ass to you.” He crossed his arms across his chest and scowled. 

“You’ll meet me, in my office, in twelve hours. Bring her,” Chuck said in a frighteningly calm voice. He nodded to Melanie and Sam, and then disappeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know of nothing like that channeling purification spell in any pagan lore; I totally made that up.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll forgive me for taking so long on this one! To make it up to you, there's plenty of smut, and also THE END OF THE STORY. Yes, this fic has drawn to a close, although I will certainly be filling out the rest of the tale in other shorter works. Thank you, thank you all, everyone who has actually stuck with this this bloody long! *blows kisses*

The buzzer sounded faintly from the distant school building, and the chaos of children running out the doors began. It was the last day of school for Lebanon Elementary, and it was a gorgeous June day. Melanie, Sam, and Bailey all sat in the van with the windows rolled down, waiting for Charlotte. 

“You think Gabriel’s gonna be back soon?” Bailey asked, poking at their slurpee with the straw. 

“Uh, he didn’t know how long he’d be. He had some pretty serious stuff to get done. And, I mean, it’s only been two weeks,” Sam said. “You miss him that much?” he teased. 

“What? No it’s just… I wondered if Chuck would come back with him?” Bailey admitted, a slow blush creeping up their neck. 

Sam snickered, but Melanie elbowed him quickly. “Chuck’s probably… also really super busy,” Melanie said softly. 

“You think what Charlotte said about him is true?” Bailey asked. “Is he really, you know, the Big Guy?” 

Sam and Melanie looked at each other, debating whether to tell the child. “Yeah,” Sam said when they reached a silent consensus. “Yeah, he is.” 

“I just really need to ask him something,” Bailey said, squirming. At that moment, Charlotte flung open the van door. 

“I have arrived, people,” she declared, dropping an extra-heavy backpack onto the floor. “Let’s start this summertime par-tay.” She gratefully snatched the blue slurpee that Bailey held out to her and snapped her seatbelt on. 

The bunker was eerily quiet when they returned. Dean and Cas had taken on the dismembered bodies case and still hadn’t come home, though Dean had reported days ago that they’d completed the hunt. Sam had gotten a text from Cas that morning with a photo of a waterfall, so he assumed there was some sort of romantic side trip happening. 

Pumpkin emerged from beneath the map table, dusty and stretching from sleep, to rub against Melanie’s legs. She bent down to scratch behind his ears before he wandered away to find Charlotte. Melanie continued toward the kitchen. 

Sam came into the kitchen a few minutes later with an armful of books and found her sitting at the table, feet propped up on a stool, with a glass of tomato juice and a jar of pickled radishes. 

“Don’t judge,” she said preemptively, dipping a radish into her juice. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, snatching a radish from the jar. “I love your pickles.” 

“Even the dilly beans?” 

“Especially the dilly beans,” Sam said. He popped the vegetable into his mouth, settling himself onto the stool behind her, and began kneading her shoulders and neck. 

Melanie moaned as his hands started to release the tension in her muscles. “Oh _Sam_ don’t stop,” she whimpered. 

“I- I won’t,” he stammered, clearing his throat. He leaned closer to her as he worked until she could feel the heat of his body against her back. She sipped at her juice and relaxed against him as his fingers melted away her tiredness and stiffness. 

“We should go to the farmers’ market,” she murmured thoughtfully. 

“Definitely what I was thinking of,” Sam agreed. “Soft, sweet, ripe peaches.” His fingers drifted down to her collarbone, sliding under the edge of her shirt. “Nibbling away at them… juice dripping down my chin,” he whispered against her hair. 

“Peaches aren’t in season,” she sighed teasingly, wiggling back against him. 

“Bet I can change that,” his warm breath whispered against her ear. His tongue traced around her earlobe and then he kissed down her jawline. Melanie turned to bring her mouth to his. Sam’s arms tightened around her and he kissed her hungrily. His tongue had just dipped into her mouth when they heard footsteps hurrying down the hallway. 

“Farmers almanac says try again tonight,” she said as she jumped up from the stool and hurried over to put a pot of water on the stove. Sam took a shaky breath and turned in his seat, hunching over a book on the table as the kids bounded into the room. 

“What’s for dinner?” Bailey asked eagerly. 

“Pasta salad, maybe garlic bread,” Melanie said. 

“Cheesy garlic bread?” Charlotte asked hopefully. 

“Ooh, yes,” Bailey said excitedly. “I can make it if you want!” 

“Sounds great,” Melanie agreed and turned to chopping up vegetables for the salad. 

It was many hours later, after dinner and cleanup and Mario Kart, when they finally made it to bed. Charlotte had been particularly whiny and demanding, whether due to the last day of school or the prolonged absence of Gabe, or perhaps a bit of both. The bedtime routine dragged out so far that Melanie lost patience and left it to Sam to finish alone. He patted her knee gently and told her to go and relax, but she found herself sitting on the edge of the bed praying to Gabriel. 

“Hey Gabriel... I miss you,” she began. “So much; I didn’t know I’d miss you this much. Can you at least… let us know how you are, what’s going on? Your son is getting bigger by the day, and my feet hurt, and I miss your arms around me, and I miss... just everything, honey. I love you so much, and I hope I’ll see you soon. Amen.” She laid down on her side, rubbing the tears from the corners of her eyes. Her hand slid under the pillow and she pulled out a soft black t-shirt and held it to her face. 

Sam found her like that half an hour later. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to kiss her. 

“I miss him too,” he murmured, rubbing his cheek against the t-shirt and inhaling the lingering scent of Gabriel found there. “At least we get to miss him together.” 

“Are you worried?” she asked. 

“Nah. No, of course not. I mean, he’s Gabriel.” Sam scoffed. “And I mean, he’s with… Chuck. Pretty sure nothing could hurt him.” He traced a fingertip slowly down her jawline and down across her throat. By the time he reached the neckline of her shirt, the touch had gone from comforting to arousing. 

Melanie tugged on the front of his shirt, drawing him down into another kiss, this one deeper and hotter. Sam made a little noise and shifted to lean over her, though he caught himself at the last minute and held his weight carefully off of her. Melanie slid her hands under his shirt and smoothed her palms over the tight muscles there. Sam kissed her slowly, working over her mouth with careful precision. Melanie continued stroking his skin under his shirt, scraping her fingernails across his back, and squeezing his nipples until he cried out and thrust against her. 

Sam sat back and yanked his shirt off. He tugged on her hands, pulling her to sitting and pulled her shirt off as well, his eyes dark with arousal. His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close against him, tilting her head to the side so he could kiss just under her ear and down her neck. Melanie slid her legs around until she was sitting on his thighs. She could feel his hardness against her, with only his sweatpants and her cotton panties separating them. 

Sam dipped his head to nuzzle at her breasts. He slid one hand around to cup them, one after the other, and knead them gently. Melanie hissed as he finally brought a nipple to his mouth and ran his tongue around it. 

“Mel. You are so hot like this,” he sighed. His fingers pinched the other nipple lightly and she gasped in pleasure, grinding down on him. “You wanna ride my cock, do you?” he murmured. 

“Fuck yes,” she replied, sliding her hand between them to squeeze it through his clothing. Sam groaned. Her fingers slid lower, teasing over his balls. Sam slid his hands down to her hips and tugged at the waistband of her panties, though he couldn’t move them down with her legs wrapped around him. Impatiently, he tugged again at the floral-print cotton, and it tore at both sides. Melanie’s eyes widened in surprise as Sam tossed the ruined fabric aside. His fingers dipped into her folds and rubbed gently over her clit, and Melanie whimpered. 

“You are so wet,” he growled appreciatively, sliding two fingers into her pussy. He curled them upward and moved them around until he found that smooth spot that had her grinding down onto his hand. “I wanna taste this,” he whispered against her ear, with a nip to her earlobe. “Let me lick you.” She had no sooner murmured an assent then Sam’s hands were on her waist, moving her backwards, lying her abruptly on her back as he dove towards her pussy. 

Sam teased his way around before finally bringing his tongue to where she wanted it the most. He pulled her legs over his shoulders and went to work, sucking and licking. He then withdrew his mouth for a moment while his fingers resumed their earlier task, his forefinger and middle finger deep inside her pussy while his thumb ghosted over her clit. He looked at Melanie, awestruck with how she looked writhing there on the bed. Her hair hung in damp, sweaty ringlets around her face, her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth open as she gasped and moaned. Her hands clutched at the sheets. Sam brought his mouth to her sex once more, this time sucking just a bit before flicking with his tongue. His free hand moved up to rub circles over her nipples while he continued fingering deep inside her with his other hand, now three fingers in. Melanie’s whimpers were becoming more desperate now, and she slid her fingers into his hair and started pulling it, demanding more. Sam pinched her nipple, just to the border between pleasure and pain, and that was her breaking point. She was thrusting up towards his face and fluttering around his fingers, and Sam kept going, his tongue frantically flicking at her clit until he was sure that she was on the other side of that peak. 

Sam rolled to the side, sucking his fingers. Melanie still had a hand tangled in his hair, her fingers soft and soothing now. Her heart was still hammering in her chest a few moments later when Sam shifted off the bed, wiped his face with a towel, then laid beside her. 

“Mm. Still amazing, after all these years,” she said, pulling him close. “In fact, that kind of reminded me of our first time. You completely blew my mind, you know. You sure knew exactly how I wanted it, even when you barely knew me.” 

Sam chuckled. “I was so nervous; I’m surprised. I mean, there were only a few girls that I… I thought I wouldn’t compare to other people you’d…” 

Melanie squinted. “Sam,” she said. “You know you’re the first person ever to do that to me, right? And, I mean... you and Gabriel are the only ones, ever.” 

Sam propped himself on his elbow and stared at her in shock. “What kind of idiot would pass that up?” he exclaimed. “Damn. Well, I guess that really does make me the luckiest guy in the world.” He kissed her gently, reverently. She leaned into the kiss, shifting to lie on her side. Her hands roamed all over him, soon coming to focus on his cock, still fully hard and leaking precum. As she squeezed her hand around it and stroked and Sam groaned almost painfully, she felt her arousal start to creep back up again. She kissed his neck and sucked at the salty skin there as her fingers drifted across the tip of his cock, teasing at the slit. 

“That feels nice,” he sighed. 

“Mmm,” she agreed, nibbling at his collarbone. “Bet I can make it feel better.” 

“Oh baby, I know you can,” he said. He seemed a little confused as she removed her hand, but when she nudged at his hip and sat up to lean over him, he got it. 

“Still wanna ride that cock,” Melanie said with a gleam in her eye as she straddled his hips, her hands smoothing across his abdomen as she lowered herself down. Sam whined as he felt her slickness on his cockhead, and thrusted eagerly, though he just slid to the side along her folds. Patiently she moved up and tried again to line him up at her entrance, and after a few more overeager thrusts, he finally found his way inside of her. 

“ _Ohhhh_ ,” Sam breathed, tossing his head back and shutting his eyes. “Oh, Mel, sweetheart.” His fingertips stroked lightly over her thighs as she slid up and down, teasingly slow. It took a moment to adjust to his size, and then she picked up the pace a little. She leaned forward, bracing her hands against him, and gasped as she found the perfect angle. Sam’s hands tightened on her legs and he thrust up against her eagerly. “Fuck, Mel, that feels amazing,” he moaned. His eyes were squeezed shut and sweat shimmered on his skin. Just a few thrusts later, he made a throaty cry and his whole body went rigid as the orgasm washed over him. His fingertips bruised into her skin, he slammed a few last thrusts into her, and then he collapsed beneath her, spent. 

She took a moment to drink in the vision before curling up at his side. Sam, still out of breath, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That was… mmm.” He caressed her hip. “Did you cum again?” 

“No, not this time,” she replied. 

“Want me to…?” His fingers trailed along the top of her thigh. She answered by shifting her thighs apart, and Sam’s fingers continued their quest. With gentle, slow strokes, and soft kisses, he brought her to orgasm again. Afterwards, he produced a towel, cleaned them both up, and tucked the covers snuggly around them. Melanie fell asleep with Sam’s head on her chest and their legs tangled together. 

When she woke up the next morning, she was on her side, one arm dangling down off the edge of the bed. There was a hand cupping her breast, one tangled in her hair, and another hand on her hip. She counted again. 

“Gabriel?” she murmured sleepily. 

“At your service, m’lady,” he whispered, kissing the back of her neck and giving her boob a gentle squeeze. 

“I missed you,” Sam said to the archangel between them. He removed his hands from Melanie and grabbed Gabriel to flip him onto his back and dive onto him, kissing hungrily. Melanie rolled over to watch. 

Sam broke off the kiss and shifted to nuzzle at his neck. “Everything go okay?” 

“Yeah, all is good. Kiss now, talk later.” Gabriel angled his face toward Melanie and she kissed him, teasing her tongue into his mouth, tangling it with his. Meanwhile, Sam was sucking bruises into Gabriel’s collarbone. Their hands moved across his flesh, exploring every bit of skin. They each settled on a nipple, and Gabriel gasped at the different sensations, Sam pinching, Melanie rubbing in circles. 

“He’s so beautiful like this, isn’t he?” she murmured to Sam, sitting up so she could get both hands on Gabriel. She gazed up and down his body, her hands now stroking over his inner thighs and his stomach, alternating gentle caresses and fingernail scratches. 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, his eyes shining as they met Gabriel’s. 

Melanie stroked a fingertip up Gabriel’s cock, base to tip, pausing just at the head. She bent closer and blew cool breath across it. Gabriel tensed up, toes curling, and moaned into Sam’s mouth. Sam made a little chuckle in his throat and deepened the kiss, clashing teeth and tongues, as Melanie brought her mouth down and licked the same spot she’d just run her finger. Gabriel whimpered and clutched at Sam’s shoulders. Sam broke off the kiss and moved back to Gabriel’s neck, biting at the soft flesh there. 

“We’re gonna take you apart, Angel,” he promised, nipping at Gabriel’s earlobe. 

Melanie settled down alongside Gabriel, and leaned over to wrap her lips around his hardness, filling her mouth with his cock. Sam worked his tongue over each of Gabriel’s nipples, ending with a bite that made the archangel writhe beneath them. “So good,” he sighed appreciatively. “You always know just the right spots.” 

Sam chuckled and nipped at the softer flesh of Gabriel’s stomach, dragging his teeth. He inched lower, teasing with his tongue the whole way, down around the curve of his hip and to his thigh. Sam grabbed at Gabriel’s knee and pulled it towards him, spreading Gabriel’s legs wider as he licked closer to the apex of his thighs, pushing a tuff of Melanie’s hair out of the way. 

She popped off and looked at Sam with a grin. “Would you like a turn?” she offered. 

Sam caught her lips in a quick, messy kiss. “Mmm yeah,” he agreed, grasping at Gabriel’s cock with his hand and sucking the head into his mouth. 

Melanie scooted up and kissed Gabriel’s stomach, in the spots where Sam’s teeth had made bruises. She watched as Sam enthusiastically sucked him in, nudging Gabriel’s legs further apart to tease around his balls. 

“Come kiss me,” Gabriel murmured, stroking her cheek. Melanie crawled up closer to him and complied as Gabriel’s arms wrapped around her. She cupped his cheeks in her hands, marvelling at the feel of the two-week beard, so strange on his face. They kept kissing, sweet gentle kisses, until the moment the climax hit him and Gabriel pulled his lips away with a cry. Melanie nuzzled into his neck and sucked on the soft flesh there while he Sam brought him through the orgasm. She glanced down as Sam rolled to the side, hand on his own cock, as he finished himself off quickly onto his own stomach. 

“Mmm. You two are hot,” she breathed out as they snuggled close together, enclosing Gabriel in the middle again. 

Half an hour later, Sam had fallen back asleep, clinging tightly to Gabriel. Melanie pressed a quick kiss to Gabriel’s lips and pulled away. “Gonna grab a shower,” she whispered, grabbing her robe. 

He nodded. “Hey, um. How’s Lottie been?” 

“Fine, nothing weird. I’ve been really watching her and she seems just herself, you know? Were you able to find anything out?” 

“Not really. Naomi didn’t know anything about why the kid would be seeing auras or halos or anything of the sort, but I don’t think she knew what she was doing to begin with anyway. Could be that we’ve just discovered something new.” 

“So… did Chuck… what did he do with Naomi?” Melanie shuddered, thinking of the fanatical, power-hungry angel being on the loose once again. 

Gabriel grimaced. “Took her Grace, sent her to be human. I think that’s his new default. Less messy this way.” He stretched out a leg to rub his toes against her hip, the rest of him still being quite trapped under Sam, and smiled. “Don’t worry. She’s not going to bother us. Not with Dad back, especially. I think she’s really sorry… well, sorry that she got in trouble, at least.” 

Melanie nodded and padded off to the shower. She washed and conditioned her hair carefully, smoothed anti-frizz product through it, and combed it gently. The mousey brown curls were getting long again, and she thought she might leave it to grow out this time. She poked at her face in the mirror, fretting over the lines at the corners of her eyes, which she rubbed cucumber-based eye cream around. She lotioned up her belly, though she didn’t really think it would stave off the stretchmarks. It was soothing to smooth her hands around the skin and feel the tiny changes every day. “I feel like an avocado,” she muttered as she looked at the shape of her abdomen. It was finally starting to look like a distinct baby bump protruding among the jiggly belly flesh. 

By the time she had pulled on leggings and a baggy t-shirt and returned to the bedroom, the bed was empty and neatly made. Sam must’ve gone running. She could hear Gabriel and Charlotte’s voices in Charlotte’s room. She peeked in the door and found them working on a coloring book together, and she quickly ducked back out again, leaving them to it. In the library, she picked up a stack of files to sort out and put away when she heard the clanging of the heavy bunker door opening and footsteps down the stairs. 

“Hey Sexy, how was your run?” she said over her shoulder. “I’ll bet you’re all hot and sweaty now.” 

“I don’t sweat,” Castiel corrected her. “So I assume that statement was not meant for me.” 

She laughed, turning around. “No, Cas, I wasn’t expecting you. Glad to see you home, though.” She hugged him briefly, then turned to Dean, who’d come in behind him. He gave her an awkward, gentle hug and then patted her on the back. 

“Well you’ve gotten huge,” he said. By his smile she assumed that he meant it as a compliment. 

Melanie snorted. “Wait a few weeks. How was the hunt?” 

“Easy as pie. Speaking of pie, is there any food in the kitchen? I’m starving.” He marched toward the kitchen. 

“There’s a whole bunch of cheesy garlic bread that Bailey made. Oh, and yes there’s pie,” she called after him. 

By the time Sam returned from his run, Dean had made a big pot of spaghetti, Bailey had emerged to excitedly hug Dean and Cas, followed by Gabriel and Charlotte, and they had laid out an impromptu, if a bit hodge-podge, brunch on the library tables. “Gotta celebrate the whole family being together again,” Dean said, grinning from ear to ear. Once everyone was sitting down and digging into the meal, he reached out for Cas’s hand and cleared his throat. 

“You know. For a while, family was just Sam an’ me. And now look at all of us. I’ve got a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law, thanks to Sam’s greediness in the romance department. I’ve got a niece and a kid and a new baby gonna come along to keep us all on our toes. And… and I’ve got a husband.” He lifted Cas’s hand up and showed off the twin gold bands glinting on their hands. 

“You eloped!” Sam exclaimed, shaking his head, though he could not hide the smile. “Well I’m happy for you two. You’ve been my brother for a long time, but welcome to the family anyway, Cas. Wish I could have been there, but...” 

“It was Chuck’s idea,” Dean said. “Kinda.” 

“We didn’t want a lot of fuss, but Dean wanted to at least ‘put a ring on it’,” Castiel said. 

“Well done, little bro,” Gabriel said. “May your union be forever happy and fruitful.” He raised his hand and there was a champagne glass in it, and everyone else suddenly found that they had champagne in front of them as well. They all lifted the glasses, still a little confused, and toasted. 

“Thanks I- wait, fruitful?” Dean said, frowning. “I don’t think that’s… nevermind.” He took a long sip of the champagne. 

As the meal continued on, Melanie glanced around the table, reflecting on what Dean had said. Their little hodge-podge family might be growing and changing, but the Winchester spirit ran deep in them all, blood or not, and they would meet and triumph over any challenges that came their way. 


End file.
